Lost
by YFW28
Summary: Lost memories, a long lost brother, a long lost life, and she herself was currently a lost soul, hiding behind a literal & proverbial mask of confidence & silent happiness. To add to it all, what she finds is something she never looked for and something she never wanted before. Rated for cursing and other shit. Read and review don't like don't read. And no flames. I suck at these
1. Prologue

**AN: So uh, here's a story read it I guess**

**P.S. I do not own anything**

**Prologue**

Escape.

As of that moment that was all that was on my mind. I woke up in a bed in a hospital I did not recognize, my usual clothes, gone, replaced with a hospital gown, except for my black face mask. I took a look at myself I was covered in bandages. On my arms, hands and ribcage, I sit up and wince. A broken rib ,cuts and bruises, a lot of them. I step off the bed and nearly cry out. A broken leg too.

My instincts told me I was safe. For the first time I didn't trust them.

I found my sword, a weapon I could compare to an over sized knife, leaning against a wall, I felt the natural attachment i had always had when I picked it up. I also found my clothes, a white _**haori**_ and a white scarf I wrapped around my arm. I put these items on me. Where the hell was I?, all i remember was the battle with that bastard Aizen then looking at two people then nothing,i make my way to the window near the bed, I crouch on the window sill, looking around. But all I could register was a strange, giant red building, the presence of thousands of living souls, rows upon rows of trees and a mountain with faces carved into the side (Was I somewhere near Rushmore?) before the door to my room opened and I jump to the nearest tree branch that could support my weight. And then I jump to the ground

"Wait!" a little boy's voice calls behind me, I only turn my head slightly to see a flash of yellow, before I turn it back to see people in grey body-armor, and animal masks surrounding me, at least five of them. A cat, a rabbit, an eagle, a dog and a weasel. All armed with swords. The dog and weasel were wearing a brown hooded cloaks over their uniforms, obviously the leaders

The one with the cat mask tried to grab my arm and I lock my fingers around her wrist as she reaches out, I use her momentum to throw her at the one behind me, the eagle. My arm complains by reminding me of the cuts that once again began bleeding.

Two down, three to go.

But as I observed my attacker, thought out my chances of winning in my condition and I knew I had to run.

I channeled as much energy into my legs as I leaped up into the air, my broken leg acts up. I land on a wide tree branch and jump to the next one, and the next one, and the next one, I was already outside of the strange place, I was in a forest. My eyes locked on to a huge crater in the ground and something in the back my head clicked. I shook it out. I knew I had to keep moving.

But I was getting slower, the travel trough that weird _**senkaimon **_was rough,like being thrown through a wood chipper except ten time worse,and the battle, they left me in bad shape and my pursuers were catching up. I could feel their _**reiatsu, **_ no it was something else, only one of them had the same powers as me, with the others it was diluted, it felt familiar.

Something small and sharp hits a spot on my neck, and I suddenly couldn't feel my left arm, I rip the thing out and see a small wooden _**senbon**_. It was a stupid decision to stop because I suddenly had the rabbit in front of me.

"We don't want to hurt you" his voice makes my head throb as if I've heard it before, but I still did not trust him.

"I think the fact that I can't move my arm says otherwise" I countered and he knew that I wouldn't go quietly, he lunged at me.

My instincts kicked in and I moved to the side and behind him, faster than I could register. I force my knee on the small of his back and he falls forward. Before he gets up I elbow the back of his neck and he's out cold. He tips to the right and falls to the ground

I hear one of the other to shout out a name to me and my head suddenly felt like it was splitting in two. I lean my back against the trunk of the tree I was perched on.

I held my head in my right hand. I cried out.

The weasel stood over me. He reaches his hand out to me. "Please we need to get you back to the hospital" just like last time his voice only adds to the pain my mind is experiencing. it was excruciating.

"Stop! Just stop!" I say and I start screaming, digging my fingers into my skull.

Weasel tries to touch my shoulder but I was beyond the point of reason. I knew what was happening to me physically, my eyes were turning yellow with hollow black pupils, pure energy was surrounding my like an aura.

"You have to get away!" I warned him. I let it out for one burst just enough to knock him off the tree

I was about release enough spiritual pressure to destroy the place I woke up from and I wasn't sure I could control it. Until someone grabbed the point were spiritual pressure is expelled, my wrists. I feel a weaker force trying to stop the flow, it doesn't do the job but it brings me back to my senses enough to control my powers.

**AN: this is kind of my actual first attempt so i apologize if it's not that good.**


	2. Back From the Dead

**AN: Here is the real first chapter, sorry for the long prologue thing.**

**P.S: I do not own anything if I did I would not be here**

**Chapter 1: Back From the Dead**

**?**

At fifteen he already had enough problems to make anyone normal go insane.

That day just took away almost all of them, he felt such a strange mix of relief, fear, regret and hope. Just like always she was the reason. From the moment she disappeared- no,

Died.

That's right she _did_ die. So did her parents, leaving a 4 year-old little boy behind. The elders argued over where the child would go, but anyone with a half a mind knew that, should he be turned over to the council, he would grow up to be a soulless, emotionless weapon for them to use. He don't know what possessed him to raise his head to them and say that he (who was only 8 at the time) would take care of him. He didn't trust any of them with the little boy who the villagers hated, without knowing his true identity, because of what was inside of him.

In the end the Sandaime sided with them and he took him home, raised him like he was a real brother, he even started wearing masks like he did. But he never forgot to tell him about his sister or the parents he never got to know. He told him the amazing things they had done and the lives they own being one of those. The eight years that have passed went by quickly, but his life started to slow down when he found her by then, it was his turn to save her...

* * *

A dark eye stared at the girl lying still on the hospital bed.

They had found her lying in a crater, that was the obvious result of a battle. The morning started out normal until everyone was passing out in the street, all except for three teenagers and a boy. Three had told the young one to stay behind and he listened. They wandered till there was a sudden spike of unfamiliar energy followed by one of them passing out. A battle was raging somewhere outside the village, and each hit seemed to make the remaining two weaker and breathless.

The battle was short, the bursts of energy getting lesser until, it seemed gone completely. They ran to the source and saw a girl with a face half covered by a mask, a black kimono, a white scarf tied around her arm and long black hair- no, it was changing!. It was turning a bright orange color, that was familiar to their eyes, and she was knelt in front of some sort of humanoid creature with brown hair,completely purple eyes and a body covered by white armor. He was holding a remainder of a sword

"You have lost!" the man growled down at her. He swung her sword down and she just stared, until the sword disintegrated in his hands, his white armor cracked revealing the flesh underneath.

"Wha-?" the girl who was on her hands and knees let out a laugh.

"You don't get it do you?" he looked at her in confusion. "The _hogyoku_ is rejecting you as it's master, it's seen that you are weak" she spat at him.

"NO!" he howled at her and nearly struck her before she leaped back, "It's OVER Aizen!"

The two boys, Black and silver felt her chakra? gathering. "You might be out of power but I am not" she said before she put her hand to her mouth, inhaled and blew azure flames from her mouth. He screamed in pain as the blue fire engulfed him.

"Kurt! This better work" she said out loud before she pulled the scarf on her arm off and whipped it at the ground, mid air it turned into a chain and they could feel her molding her unusual chakra before she launched the chains, they wrapped around the man and held him down. Until white crosses surrounded by red, was that chakra? started appearing on his chest pierced him through, more of the same substance sprouted at the monsters feet and surrounded him slowly wrapping around him until he was completely encased in a large white cross.

The girl breathing was heavy, only then did they see the damage done to her, her left arm was burnt and cut in many places, her leg was at a strange angle, she was bloody, bruised and cut up everywhere, her kimono was torn to shreds only covering up what they were supposed to, she turned to them and her blue eyes looked at them frustrated and then she promptly passed out. They stood there for a moment and looked at her dazed until they came to their senses and grabbed her rushing her to the hospital, where people were starting to wake up.

_"Which brings us here"_ The shinobi thought to himself, he ran a hand through his hair and looked at her. Knowing the way she was back then she would have hated to have people see her face so he left the mask on her.

"Stop standing over there, you look like a creep spying on a sleeping girl " he looked over to his friend and long time teammate. The one standing over the girl gave a grunt in response "I'm worried she was in bad shape plus her heart stopped" He said as he walked over to the chair on the other side of the hospital room where the other one was sitting.

"Well stop worrying yourself, look, it's just like before she's healing so fast, her arm's already better minus the cuts and her legs getting better too." His friend said. No matter how little it did, it reassured him. "And her pulse started up again when we got her here."

"And the sword?" a giant sword suddenly started materializing in the room when they had brought her in, they had put it in the corner along with her clothes, which started mending themselves at the same time as their owner, a white coat with the kanji for fourteen on the back and the white scarf.

"What if it's not her?" The other one asked looking at the orange haired girl. "What then?"

"It has to be her" was all he answered.

They left the room and met the boy they said to stay behind in the hall

"Nii san is she alright? Can I see her?" the blonde haired, blue-eyed boy asked

"Naruto she's still unconscious" seeing the disappointed look on the boy's face he told her that they could visit her later and Naruto agreed

Hours later Neko was put in charge of watching over the girl being the only female currently available in ANBU, she watched the girl with the orange haired girl open her eyes and look around her room. She was told to alert the others if the girl woke. She ran to  
Inu, (dog) Itachi, (weasel) Washi, (eagle) and Usagi (rabbit). They came back to the girl, trying to leave the hospital they knew she was badly injured, they had to stop her.

At least that's what they thought before, she took down three of them, and rendered one of them unconscious, just by flaring her **_reia_tsu **_._

**_Inu:_**

She had thrown Neko and Washi hard enough into a wall to knock them out and then she ran through the trees he had stopped to make sure the others were alright and ordered Itachi to continue the pursuit. They had lost her once.

Never again.

When her unusual chakra started spiking he sped up just in time to catch Itachi from crashing into the ground. The same energy from the battle, except now it felt out of control. It felt almost like it was pulling him down but it wasn't directed towards him.

He made my way up to the branch she was on, she was surrounded by an aura of energy her eyes turning black and amber. "Please stay back!" she pleaded with but instead he just stepped closer, "NO!" She screamed.

Seeing hiy chance he did what my instincts told me, he channeled white chakra to his hands and grabbed her wrists. Nothing could have prepared him for the crushing force of her own energy fighting against his weaker one, but he stayed strong.

She realized what was happening and tried to reign in her similar chakra. She was breathing heavily through clenched teeth and soon her output started receding.

Hestepped back, weakened. With what strength she had left, which was to say a lot, she punched the branch beneath his feet, he barely had time to react before it came crashing down and he jumped to a nearby tree and hung there by a branch. He saw her trying to run, still trying to escape from what she thought was a threat, him.

Anyone could tell she was extremely exhausted. But still managed a to run at good speed, but not fast enough to escape in her conditon

"Stay away from me!" she ordered but he couldn't, she leaned against a trunk, and he immediately pinned her to the tree. She struggled still managing to be strong enough to break his hold once, but not the second time.

"Who are you!?" she demanded "What do you want?! I am not going back with you if you're just going to torture me asshole!" she had venom in her words it was _her_ voice but grown up, matured.

He pulled down his hood and took off the ANBU mask just to show a half masked faced, silver hair and mismatched eyes, his right eye looked straight into her two blue one's, so familiar. "You don't remember me?" he asked her hopefully

She hesitated before shaking her head "If I did I wouldn't have asked who you were dumbass" but she did not sound too sure. He pulled the mask down and watched her eyes widen before she scowled.

"It's me, the idiot you were teammates with, your childhood friend, your best friend" he said her name and she screamed and he almost let her go, "My head" she groaned.

Everything he said made her head throb, it was like something was trying to burn it's way into her mind.

He didn't stop "The move you used on the rabbit is you favorite way to knock someone out."

"Just because you know the way I fight doesn't mean you know me!" she shouted at him, he thought for a moment.

"You wear that mask because people wouldn't take you seriously as a fighter." she stopped a little. "If someone around you says something stupid you lightly hit the back of their heads, or at least you think it's light." She stopped struggling altogether.

"How did you..."

He let go of her right wrist, knowing she was too tired to fight, and pointed to her neck "You have a diagonal scar on the back of your neck"

That surprised her, she had had that scar for years, even she didn't know where it came from. "How did you-" he cut her off

"When we were fighting in the Third Shinobi War, you saved a child of Iwa who had wandered onto the battlefield, one of our own was about to strike him down for no reason before you shielded the kid, and instead of stabbing the child he slashed the back of your neck" a memory of what he had said came into her mind, blurry and unfocused but it was there.

"Okay puppy, what about this one?" she pushed the sleeve of her_** shihakusho **_up her right arm and showed him the scar she had on her forearm, running from the elbow to a spot six inches away from her wrist, another one she didn't remember getting.

He gently grabbed her wrist and examined it closer. She stared at dog, taller than her by a few inches, maybe "6'1" silver hair that somehow defied gravity but tilted forward with nothing holding all of it up, covering his forehead and falling in front of his eyes, the onyx-colored right one looking at her scar and the left one with a diagonal scar of its own running over it. A narrow jawline she would kill to sketch, strong chin, and perfect features. The scar didn't ruin anything it only made him look better, more intense somehow. She would've blushed if she was any other girl in the world. But according to her friends she was incapable.

He realized she was staring and stared back before she scowled at him and he stepped back some. "It was during our promotion exam some other team from Kusa was about to get eaten by a giant snake before you and I stopped it with just our hands. I have one to match" he pulled down the sleeve of his plated gloves over his arm, the left one and showed similar mark.

"And this one?" she pulled her own mask down and pointed to a mark on the corner of her upper lip.

He stared at me for a while and she couldn't help but notice a shade of pink gracing his cheeks, "What?" she asked him said out loud and he just shook his head. Dog controlled his expression and turned away.

"That one's your little brother's fault you were holding a kunai in your mouth when Naruto startled you" her eyes widened when he said little brother and her head started throbbing again, her hand reached for the side of her head, she cried out in pain like an axe was buried in her head because that's what it felt like and when he said that name "Naruto" her mind started feeling like it was being ripped into pieces.

"Hey, calm down!" She could hear dog but he couldn't help, he couldn't stop the pain of the memory she lost trying to burning their way into her mind. one of those memories of him, he was her teammate, her comrade, her friend. Every moment, very fight found it's way into her brain and she collapsed on the forest floor gasping for air.

He called out a name,_ "was it mine?"_ She could feel him wrapping something around her shoulders, picking her up bridal style but she was too spent to open her eyes and look at him, so instead she said:

"Hey, Dog"

"Mmm?" was what he responded as she felt him walk back to the place filled with living souls, many of them familiar.

"I remember you, it's good to see you again Kashi" she leaned her head on his chest and passed out from exhaustion but not before she heard him respond:

"It's good to see you, too, Irina"

_"That's right,_, she thought, _"that was my name, Irina, Irina Namikaze."_

**AN: So yeah first chappy is done.**

**An explanation is in order i guess**

**Her name is french, you will find out later why that is, It is pronounced (ee-ree-na) so basically if you've read or watched bleach you know the basis for her character, there will be a lot of changes to her story like reversed genders, different name, to suit the whole international, not only in Japan soul society my mind crafted. But over all the storyline is same with some minor-ish changes. The characters will be altered a tad, and so will their attitudes and there will be added characters and sub plots.**


	3. The Year After

**So, this chapter is set more than a year after**

**Disclaimer: You know who this belongs to, i don't own ANYTHING**

**Chapter 2: The Year After**

**Irina**

Irina looked down, or rather up at their feet, she thought of every possible way to get out of the predicament they were in, her partners and herself were tied up together by they're feet and they're hands bound separately, they were being dangled off a cliff looking down about 100 feet below into a clearing in the forest. She lifted her head up and swung it back down, hard.

"OW! What the hell was that for?" Itachi Uchiha asked her when she knew she hit the back of his head

"This is your fault" she hisses at him and he retaliated "How is this my fault?!"

Irina give him a scowl he doesn't see "We should see what they can tell us first" she said in a perfect imitation of his voice. "Nothing bad will happen my ass!"

How did she get here?

* * *

It was exactly 15 months ago. she was in the hospital room Kakashi brought her back to, just watching the clouds drift by.

"You two can't come in here!"

**Slam!**

She was ripped from cloud watching by the sound arguing outside the door and that same door sliding open with excessive force. Kakashi and the Weasel, if she remembered his chakra signature correctly, came into the room despite the protest of a nurse standing by the door way.

"You see she's already awake." The weasel gestured to her. Irina tried to remember him, onyx eyes and jet black hair, most of it pulled back into a low ponytail, bangs that were parted at the center and kept there by a headband, the most distinguished feature, however, were the pronounced tear-troughs under his eyes. She examined the headband more, dark blue fabric, with a metal plate in the middle, engraved in the plate a small symbol like a leaf.

The nurse huffed at them as Irina watched the scene in silence "Well awake or not she needs to rest and she can't do that with you too around." she wondered if the nurse realized that made zero sense considering she was healed.

"Don't worry she will be fine thank you for the help" Itachi then proceeded to close the door in her face and she just walked away.

Irina sighed. "You know instead of harassing the nurse you could have just waited for visiting hours" she said finally looking at them. They just shrugged.

"I wanted to see you considering I didn't get a chance to talk to you after you blasted me out of that tree" he walked over to my bed and held out a hand. "Itachi Uchiha. And its good to finally meet you again" He made the smallest hint of a smile. There was a weight in the air as she stared at his hand, trying to remember him

Something in Irina's mind clicked into place and she remembered the first time she met him, he had said something similar. But back then he actually smiled at her.

She smiled under her mask and took his hand. "I remember you, good to see you weasel-kun." The slight tension in the air disappeared as she shook his hand and she couldn't help but hear Kakashi exhale in relief.

"Now why are you two here?" Irina asked them

It was Kakashi who answered "We wanted to make sure you were fully healed and he wanted to see you" he gestured to Itachi

"How do you feel?" Kakashi asked

"Confused. I can't remember shit. And everytime I see something that reminds me of all this it makes my head hurt and the memory slips away, it's like all the memories are just there but I can't reach them." she sighed in frustration.

"We can help, but we need to know. What _do_ you remember?" Itachi looked at her like she was someone to pity and she scowled at him until he stopped.

"For starters, I remember him" she pointed to Kakashi. "And something about a little brother, where is he?" They looked at each other a bit concerned.

"We could have a Yamanaka take a look at her."

"What the hell is a Yamanaka?" The foreign word sounded strange coming from her lips.

"A clan here, they specialize in mind related techniques, we could have one of them enter your mind and-"

"No" she says a bit too forcefully. "I don't anyone in my head, especially if there's a risk of them getting hurt." She cringed, she had told them a little too much but they didn't ask questions.

Kakashi sighed, there seemed to be a lot if sighing that day "Then we have no choice we're going to have to make you remember."

"Wait, what?"

* * *

Since then she has gotten to know the people that she would've missed, if she knew they existed. Irina didn't want to think about the fact that her mind wouldn't let her remember anything, no matter how hard she tried. So she asked the Sandaime to put her to work as a distraction. And then she was made an ANBU operative and was assigned to a team of two, who lucky for her was Kakashi.

And that brings us here to their current mission. Infiltrate a small town said to be filled with Suna nin who did not accept the treaty between Konoha and Suna and wanted to start an uprising. They came into town as civillians henged. But apparently there was a mole in Suna who ratted them out and they were discovered, not true identities but the diguises. So of course they were tied up, they were not succesful in finding the plans and you know the rest.

"Don't go blaming this on me!" Itachi screamed in Irina's ear, the only times Itachi lost his cool "It's the moles fault" he was right of course but he was still at fault for one thing.

"Yeah well it's your fault they tied us up, you just had to mock the leader, didn't you?"

"Not my fault he was a total dumbass for not having a plan" her speech was starting to influence his.

"Shut up!" And so they did because the rope was lowered a bit, the commander of the wannabe rebels looked over the edge at them "Now let's try this again, what village are you from?"

"Now let me try _this _again." Kakashi copied his tone "Fuck off" the rope was lowered again but Irina couldn't help but smirk as she heard a small snapping sound from behind her. All according to plan. All she needed was for the guy to spill.

"You know whoever your leader is he is a total chicken shit for not doing this himself." She taunted them and being the idiots they are they took the bait.

"Our leader doesn't need to be bothered with pests like you especially when he's in important meetings like this one"

"Important meeting?" She play dumb. "Who's he meeting, your mom?" oh how she loved those stupid, petty, your mom jokes.

The man chuckled and laughed darkly "Lord Orochimaru" and that was the only thing that they needed to confirm. "Alone we're not strong enough to take Suna, let alone Konoha. But we have allies and he's at the center of it all."

"Well that's all we needed to know see you around assholes. She lunge above her and they flinch, instead of going after them, Irina had taken the kunai Kakashi used to cut the ropes binding their hands and slashed at the line holding them up and they plummeted.

None of them screamed as they kept falling, 90 feet, 80, 70, 60. Her mind had no trouble calculating the distance. While they fell the rope binding their feet, already having been cut, loosened and they shrugged it off. They linked arms, with her in the middle. The moment we were at fifty feet she looked down at the ground below, getting closer and closer, Irina inhaled deeply and shouted in her mind:

**_"Fūton: Sora no ibuki! (Wind release: Breath of the Sky)"_**

A strong wind expels from her mouth that hits the ground and slows down the fall, She continue this until they touched the ground, light as a feather and it stopped. They disconnect their arms.

"Good job you two" She complemented them on the excellent timing.

"How did you know they would tell us what we wanted if we started fighting." Itachi asked

"Common sense my dear weasel, if people see any hint of weakness they feel strong and with men like that they get cocky." She explained "When they saw the two of us, a team, fighting with each other, we showed weakness,or so they thought."

Yup. The only times Itachi loses his cool, when he's faking it.

From the top of the cliff they're ex-captors shouted at them "Get back here!" he ordered and in response Irina gave him the finger. Kakashi and Itachi chuckled at her uncivillized action. And they turned and ran into the woods.

She released the henge over them and they returned to their original appearance. The standard ANBU uniform but with a few alterations.

Kakashi had a red scarf around his neck and bandages wrapped around his right arm. His white light chakra sabre strapped to his back instead of the standard ANBU katana. A wolf mask was moved to the side of his head. His dark blue face mask, covering what it should.

Itachi had won a white cloak over his signifying him as a squad leader. His weasel mask was strapped to his waist. He was the only one wearing a Konoha hitai ate on his forehead.

Irina had covered any flesh and replaced the white bandages with grey ones. Her white haori was over the uniform, the inside blood red and closed off at the back, the kanji for fourteen still there. Her zanpakuto was strapped to her back with the same red cord and her white scarf was around her waist along with a mask depicting a wolf with black and blood red markings.

Over the year Irina and Kakashi worked together they showed exceptional skill in infiltration, assasination, tracking guard detail and whatever they were assigned to. But it was there devestation of entire army that had won them the name **_"Kuro ōkami to _****_Gin ōkami- Konoha no futago no ōkami" (Black wolf and silver wolf- Twin wolves of the leaf) _**in the bingo books. The two of them didn't even bother hiding their identities. People knew to steer clear of them, alone one of them was a force not to be trifled with, together they were basically invincible. "As in a pack, one wolf is never without the other" the saying went.

But the only thing that was in the deadly pair's minds while they travelled home was their younger brother, who was about to become a full fledged shinobi himself.

* * *

**Naruto**

Surprise, surprise, the young blonde was at Ichiraku's. His older siblings, one by blood and the other adoptive, sweat dropped at the six empty bowls he stacked next to him.

"If you keep eating that stuff you're gonna be a midget forever" He stopped eating and turned to Irina and Kakashi

"You're back!" He immediately hugged me. Irina and him had grown close once again over the months. When she would come back from a mission or when he came back home from the academy this became a regular thing.

Irina kissed his masked cheek and Kakashi ruffled his blonde hair, they heard a loud squeal from over the counter.

"I thought you would be used to it Ayame" Kakashi said sitting down on Naruto's right.

"But you too just look so sweet!" The ramen chef squealed again Irina rolled her eyes and let go of her little brother.

He just resumed gorging on his ramen and Kakashi shook his head at his outoto.

"Ayame could you get me one miso?" Irina asked politely

"Coming right up" She nodded and went to get my order.

"Hey there Irina, Kakashi, good to see you" Teuchi greeted me from the kitchen.

"You as well Teuchi-san" When Ayame came back with the ramen could see her watching me closely. the orange-haired kunoichi pretended not to notice as she put her hands together,

"Itadakimasu" she muttered and split the chopsticks, she picked up the bowl and held it up. Ayame watched me like a hawk waiting and waiting...

"Hey Ayame"

The brunette turned her head to Kakashi and realised what he was doing. She whirled around to look at Irina again.

And she was finished wer her ramen and was just pulling her mask up.

"Gah! how do you do that?" She said frustratedly. Kakashi chuckled. All of they're friends had been trying to see the pair's faces. And from the start they been trolling them. None of them were comfortable with taking the coverings off, even just to eat. Unless they were completely alone the masks never came off. They ate too fast for anyone too get a good look at their faces. Even when Naruto was eating a lot he had a bowl blocking the view.

Irina winked at her and enjoyed the comfortable sound of her little brother stuffing his face and her slurping down noodles.

"So Naru-chan you're finals are tomorrow right?" After a while Ayame asked.

"Yup and I'm gonna ace it dattebayo!" Irina smiled at his verbal tick. Just like her, she thought

"You better, or else I would have to cast you out" Kakashi joked.

He pouted at his surrogate brother "Just because you were a genious as a kid doesn't mean I have to be!" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Of course not Naru-nii. You just need to be who you are." He gave Irina his signature grin afterwards.

The shinigami/shinobi glared at her partner jokingly and he shrugged in return. "We should be getting home." Kakashi said.

The three of them had been living in the Hatake ancestral home, Kakashi and Naruto from the start and Irina since she returned. It was becoming like home to her.

"You're right Naru-chan's got a big day tomorrow" Ayame said after a while she cleaned up the empty dishes and the trio payed her for the ramen. They walked home holding hands with Naruto in the middle like a family. And it was starting to feel like one no matter how fucked up it was.

**AN: I am not good at emotional shit.**

**So the year I skipped will be shown in a later chapter, it will be hard to explain and strange to follow**


	4. Just a Few Changes

**AN: Exam time!, God I hate tests.**

**I have said it before and i will say it again I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 3: Just a Few Changes**

**Irina**

Her little brother has done a lot, and she means _a lot_ of stupid things. But most of those things were hilarious.

She was just in the living room of the Hatake home drinking morning coffee through her mask, reading a book and talking to Zangetsu and Inari (What she named her hollow when they became friends). She was interrupted from the peace by someone throwing stones at the window.

She walked over to it and stuck her head out the window, but not before taking another sip of coffee. She looked around for the culprit, she turned right then left and she nearly snapped her neck looking back right.

"What the fuck!?" The Hokage monument had been vandalised, the face of the hokages marked with kabuki face paint and red lipstick. It took her seconds to realize who the dumbass, with the balls to do that was and she started laughing.

"NARUTO!" Hearing the voices of the chunin did not help, she clutched her stomach, spilling coffee everywhere and not caring. Hell even her zangetsu and her hollow were laughing in her head.

"Oh man, I have to buy that little bastard a hundred bowls later" she said to herself chuckling. And she suddenly erupted into laughter once again, when she realized what was going to happen tomorrow. She couldn't wait to see the look on her outoto's face.

* * *

**Naruto**

Others in Konoha woke up to the spectacle, the blonde troublemaker's friends included. Shikamaru Nara just sighed at how troublesome it was. Choji Akimichi nearly choked on his barbecue. Shino Aburame remained stoic but beneath his coat he was fighting a smile.

Sasuke facepalmed at his best friend while his older brother just chuckled and shook his head. _"Oh Naruto"_ he thought. Kiba Inuzuka nearly passed out from laughing. And he eventually did pass out when the masked prankster ran by his house with a group of chūnin chasing him. And finally Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes nearly spewed out of their sockets, but the Sandaime was not angry he just laughed to himself.

Of course the fun had to end and he was caught by Iruka, and he was pissed off, big time.

He demanded that Naruto scrub every fleck of paint off the stone heads before school. He arrived in the classroom, his hands aching and a huge smile growing beneath his mask.

The moment Naruto stepped through the doorway he was greeted with screams from his fangirls. He was polite with them and declined their feeling but that kindness only made them love him more.

"There he is, what the hell were you thinking Naruto-baka?!" Sakura Haruno immediately screeched at him when he entered the room. Naruto lost the smile beneath his mask and replaced it with a scowl that showed in his eyes.

"Why the hell would you care Haruno?" Naruto hated this girls attitude. Acting like she was such a good kunoichi and always annoying his best friend.

Sakura relented but the blonde just ignored him and found a seat next to his best friend.

Sasuke nodded to him after he sat down. Both of their fangirls had surrounded them and stared

"Teme-". He suddenly had an arm draped over him.

"That was genius Naruto" Kiba laughed and was hit on the top of the head by Ino Yamanaka.

"Don't encourage him baka!" Ino however Naruto didn't mind as much. She was a fangirl like Sakura but she had potential as a shinobi. And she didn't rebuke Naruto for no reason. She and Naruto were friends in some aspects

"Hey relax Ino-san, I just wanted to end the school year with a bang" Naruto assured her "Besides, Iruka-sensei already made me clean it up" he said holding up his red hands.

"Even so you could've gotten into big trouble" Ino sighed defeatedly.

After that class was low key, the children just talking about their morning and the girls arguing over who would sit next to Naruto and Sasuke. Some girls would wave at them and giggle and Sasuke ignored them, which made them swoon, and Naruto weakly waved back. He was thankful when Shikamaru took the seat next to Sasuke, they were safe from the fangirls. He was in a seat next to the aisle.

"Why do you do such stupid things dobe?" Sasuke asked the jinchuriki, turning to face him in his seat. He wondered how this was the only person in class that could compete with him.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Naruto smirked as Sasuke scowled and grew an angry tick mark. He adopted his aniki's 'too cool' attitude. It didn't work like it did with Gai, but the effect on Sasuke was enough.

What both of them didn't notice were the girls trying to shove Shikamaru out of the seat next to Sasuke and instead they ended up pushing the lazy boy into Ushiha, which caused him to fall forward into Naruto.

The class was dead silent as the two boys' faces were pushed together, some girls fainted, some girls cried, and some of them has nose bleeds as they saw the two boys accidentaly kiss.

Naruto jumped up and nearly started to puke.

"I knew it! You are gay! I just got violated by and emo with a duck's ass for hair!" He was glad for the mask because it prevented their lips from actually touching. He knew he would never hear the end of this when he saw Kiba laughing his ass off and he also knew his surrogate brother and his sister would never let him live this down.

"You probably grabbed me you pervert!" Sasuke shouted back at him.

"Oh no! This is the reason you shoot down every girl here, you had a crush on me the whole time!" It was ridiculous but in the heat of the moment this was logical.

"That's not why! Besides I would never go gay for you!"

"Neither would I, and I would make out with every girl in this class to prove it!" At this point the said girls lined up behind Naruto and Sasuke. All curious to see what the blonde looked like behind the mask and wanting to help the boys prove they were straight.

Before long the girls had the two boys up against a wall, begging them to let them help.

By Kami's saving grace, Iruka entered the class room before a rape would happen. Iruka was surprised when Naruto kneeled down in front of him and thanked him.

"You saved my life!" Naruto cried anime tears.

"All right brats everyone sit down!" the students scrambled to get into their seats when Iruka used his 'Big Head Jutsu'. The test begun immediately after. The first part was the written exam. Just simple theory and of course it was the pink haired banshee who finished first.

After that it was the practical part. Iruka told the children to wait outside.

"Hinata-chan did you see my genius this morning" Naruto greeted the shy girl and she smiled back.

She admired his spirit and his strength but he had made it clear a while ago that he didn't reciprocate her feelings, she didn't love him in that way anymore but she still cared for him and looked up to him. He acted like a big brother to her.

Hinata nodded "I was afraid you might get in trouble for it."

"Don't worry about it I can get out of anything remember?" Naruto assured her and he smiled at her.

"Yup and I trust you" She really did.

They were all called in for the final part of the exam.

"You are all to perform the _**Henge no jutsu** _and produce at least one _**Bunshin**_ then use the **_Kawarimi no justu_**" Iruka explained. They were all called To step forward one by one

With each student that passed they held their hitai ate and wore them proudly. After what seemed like forever his name was called.

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze"

"Finally!"

Iruka didn't miss the glint in Naruto's eyes as the blonde formed a familiar handseal.

"Don't even-" It was too late as smoke erupted around the room and Naruto had transformed into a naked female with clouds covering her ahem sensitive parts.

**"Oiroke no justu" **the girl purred. Iruka had passed out from nose bleeds and so did a few of the males. The rest of the boys in class, aside from Shino, Shikamaru and Sasuke just blushed. The girls looked horrified and slightly jealous.

Naruto transformed back into himself and laughed at the look on his instructors face.

"Naruto take this seriously!" The boys had started waking up laughed and the girls glared daggers at them.

"All right, all right!" He made the correct handseals.**_  
_**

After the smoke cleared standing there was a perfect replica of the Yondaime. The instructors looked on wide-eyed as they stared at the man considered a legend. Some of the students had the same reaction namely Naruto's friends but most of them just wondered who the man was,

"It looks just like him" they knew Naruto's heritage everyone did but they were still surprised as the blonde had only been proven the son of Minato Namikaze at the return of his older sister.

"G-good job Naruto. Now turn back" Iruka forced the stutter out of his speech.

Naruto smiled sadly at the complement given to him.

Iruka snapped out of the trance and asked the boy to finish and do the final part.

Naruto nodded and made an unfamiliar handseal. **_"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_**

The entire room was filled to the corners with Narutos. "Oops I guess I put to much into it" The jinchuriki scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"No Naruto you did great, now please release them and perform a **_Kawarimi_****." **Iruka instructed.

They were all shocked as Naruto had disappeared and was replaced by Iruka who was confused as to how he got there. "Sorry Iruka sensei couldn't think of anything"

Naruto reappeared next to Iruka and smiled up at him.

"It's fine, in fact you passed with flying colors, congratulations Naruto" Said boy just grinned beneath his mask and grabbed a hitai ate from Iruka. He wrapped it around his forehead.

Iruka turned to the class "Congratulations to all of you! You are now full fledged shinobi. Report here tomorrow and you'll be assigned you're teams and you're jōnin"

Hours later Naruto sat on his bed in his room looking out the window and just staring at the sky.

There was a knock at the door "You should be in bed you've got another big day tomorrow"

He turned around to see his older sister holding something behind her back and smiled at her. "Just thinking"

Irina stepped into his room and sat down on his bed next to him. "Anything I can help with?" Her little brother shook his head but she wasn't convinced,

"No seriously, I disappeared on you for six years, its the least I could do" They both laughed but soon there was a heavy silence.

Wanting him to be happy she pulled out the box. "I got you something."

The blonde took the box and opened it. His eyes widened at the weapon inside the box. He picked it up gingerly, as if he was scared it would break. He felt its weight in his hands and stared at the seal formula on the handle. The three blades of the small weapon glinted in the moonlight. He touched the tip of his finger to the tip of the middle blade and it easily punctured his skin.

"Is this..." He trailed off, he knew the answer.

His sister nodded. "Yup and its the last one. I searched all over the village, it was in pretty bad shape when I found it, but I had my guy work on it. Its like Kakashi's sabre now. It's a bit heavier than you're average kunai and it may be harder to use but-"

She stopped when Naruto suddenly had his arms around her and she hugged him back. "Thank you" She smiled and they stayed there for a while. Until she noticed her little brother's sad smile

"What is it nii-chan?" Irina asked concerned for her little brother. He pulled away and faced the window.

Naruto looked out at the clear sky. "It's just... do you think they would be proud?" He had tears in the corner of his eyes.

The orange haired shinigami pulled down her mask and her little brother did the same. It was the way Irina, Naruto and Kakashi assured each other that there would be no walls. No more "masks" hiding real emotion and no secrets and lies between them.

She took her outoto in her arms. "Of course they would, hell I bet they're watching right now and they probably have that same look on their faces that they gave you when you learned how to mould chakra" Naruto remembered the proud and beaming look they had given him when he was just three years old.

His older sister pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes "They would- no they are proud of you, of how you've grown up to be such a good person and a promising shinobi."

By this time the blonde jinchuriki was crying and threw his arms around his older sister once again.

"Naruto even me and Kakashi, we are proud of you" she kissed his whiskered cheek.

Naruto sighed "Can you tell me a story about your time in the other side"

Irina nodded and lay her brother down on his bed. She got into the bed with him and held him close. "Did I ever tell you how I met my friends there?" He shook his head.

"Well, it all started about a year after I first got there. The man who took care of me decided to enroll me in elementary school and on the first day I met this little blonde kid, that was being bullied by some other kids, I walked up to them to stop them and instead this really tall girl stepped in and gave them an earful, I joined in of course and..."

He eventually fell asleep and Irina just stared at his face. He looked so much like he did in the only memory she had of him before she was "killed". So young and innocent. She knew he had been through a lot. One of those would be her disappearance and she felt guilty for not remembering him. She had a lot to make up for.

She pulled her outoto closer to her, he was so small all curled up, and she kissed his forehead. "I promise I'll make it up to you, all of it" She whispered against his skin. and she saw him smile.

**AN:AWWWWWWWWWW!**

**So who can guess who they're sensei will be. I'll give you a clue, its not Kakashi or Irina.**

**R&R but no flames.**


	5. Shopping!

**Apparently my friend wanted a costume change for Irina cause she thought the shihakusho wasn't good for a ninja.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 4: Shopping!**

**Kakashi**

He woke up to sunlight in his eye.

Big day. He thought. He got up and decided to make breakfast. It was his turn.

He thought about what had happened two days ago and nearly split his face from smiling.

"What do you mean you won't teach him?" The council asked.

"Exactly that, I refuse to have Sasuke Uchiha on my team." He replied calmly not even looking up from a small book that Irina gave him. (Not Icha Icha)

The council stared at him, waiting and he sighed. "Putting him and Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze on the same team is too much for one jōnin, besides can't Itachi just teach him to use his sharingan?" He asked lazily and continued reading.

"Itachi Uchiha refuses to teach his younger brother for reasons unspecified. And you are and Obito Uchiha (Yes, he is alive here)are the only other users and Obito is..."

Kakashi snapped his book closed and the sound schoed through the room And startled most of the civillians on the council. "Look under normal circumstances I would but as of right now you're asking me to be partial to one of my supposed to be three students. And besides two of those students are magnets for a headache its too much for little old me. He said lazily"

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, the teen was right of course but he council had forced the Sandaime into this situation. He tried to think of every possible way he could get out of this with the least amount of paperwork.

Then he smiled to himself and laughed perversely, thinking of how many Icha Icha books he could read through with the time saved. Everyone in the room stared at him and he cleared his throat and controlled his expression.

"You refuse because you say it's too much for you?" Kakashi nodded.

"How about a compromise?"

He was wondering what kept his other two housemates and decided to go to Irina's room. He was surprised when he found it empty and immediately started worrying. He bolted to Naruto room and slammed the door open.

There were collective groans from the bed and Kakashi's expression softened into a smile.

There was the brother and sister duo, all cuddled up together. They were facing each other, Irina had her arm around his torso and his arms were cradled close to his body. But he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

He hated to ruin the moment, but they were asleep. He grabbed a camera and snapped a picture and instantly Irina's eyes snapped open.

She groaned and the realized the position she was in. She smiled softly at her little brother. She tried to get up without disturbing him. It was still too early for him to be up, but the older ones had things to do. She pulled the blankets over her outoto's sleeping form and turned to Kakashi.

"I gave him the kunai" She explained and expected him to answer but instead he was trying not to look at her. She noticed the pink tint in his cheeks but she shrugged it off, he always does this when he sees her mask-off, which wasn't very often.

She pulled the cover over her mouth and readied for the day ahead.

* * *

**Irina**

"Why am I here?"

She asked Kurenai, Anko, and Yugao as they dragged her ass through the shopping district.

Kurenai rolled her eyes. "Because, Irina you're a regular shinobi now and not just ANBU, you need new clothes."

Said girl just groaned and then her eyes took in the surroundings "Why are the rest of you here, you could just leave me to buy stuff alone."

"To make sure you actually buy something, plus we're low on supplies too." Anko answered her and she groaned again.

She usually wore her shihakusho, her haori, the tabi on her feet on the white scarf on her arm outside of ANBU duty. She had to admit it served her well as a shinigami but as a shinobi it was less efficient, even though it mended itself, it still snagged on branches. And it also made a reasonably loud rustling sound which wasn't exactly good for stealthy missions.

She spoke too soon. When they got into the store everything seemed wrong to her.

"What about this?" Anko held up a green battle kimono with pink shorts and a black apron over it.

"I would sooner dye my wolf's fur pink then wear it myself" She could practically hear her summon growling in protest.

Kurenai was next "Okay maybe this?" She presented me with a red battle dress with flame designs on the collar"

"There's no black, plus I'm a shinobi not a stripper" She stared at the rather revealing chest of the dress.

"Okay! We are not getting anywhere" Yugao sighed and kept looking through the racks. "First I think we should get you're measurements so we know what sizes to look for"

"Okay" When she told them she saw the look of envy and anime tears on her female friends' faces.

"You're only sixteen and you have that kind of body" Anko leaned her head on Yugao body and the purple headed ANBU just shook her head.

"Don't see what the big deal is" Irina muttered and Kurenai all but slapped her.

"The big deal is that you are a kunoichi, a kunoichi with a great body I might add and just like what women of our profession before us, you should use that body to you're advantage." She was talking about how kunoichi used seduction tactics in older times.

"Okay" she sweatdropped "But nothing too revealing"

In the end none of them could help her so she sent them off to buy some supplied so she could think.

_**"You could always just go naked kid."**_ She heard the voice of her hollow laugh.

"You're kidding me right?" she asked in her mind, but the spirit just continued laughing.

"Zangetsu please shut her up" Irina begged and immediately the laughing stopped.

The battle kimono Taunade wore would have worked if it wasn't so goddamned revealing. And then there's the wrappings that Kurenai wears. She thought back to her father's white haori with orange flames and her mothers black footwear and smirked she had an idea.

The other kunoichi found her an hour later at the same store.

"Irina are you-woah" Anko was cut short when she saw the shinobi/shinigami.

She was wearing the top of her old shihakusho but the sleeves had been torn off and it was left open and her well endowed chest was wrapped up with white bandages, but it didn't make them look any smaller. Her black pants hugged her long legs, but they weren't too tight, just tight enough to make sure they wouldn't snag on anything. The white haori was still there but now the bottom had black and dark red flame motifs and it was styled more like her father's own coat rather than the loose-fitting one of a shinigami, it had no sleeves and it had a hood hidden behind her orange hair. Ripped sleeves protruded from the haori.

Her hands were covered with black, fingerless gloves with metal plates on the knuckles. Engraved on the plate on her right hand was the Uzumaki spiral and on the left was the Konoha symbol. Around her right arm was the white scarf that was now a black chain. A brown ninja pouch was tied to the outside of her left thigh with bandages. On her feet were black, high laced, steel toed, combat boots with low heels and red laces. Her usual Zanpakuto was on her back, secured by the same red cord that wrapped around her body.

The girls were only now noticing black marks on her body. Just above her left hip and the waistband of her pants was a tattoo of the number fourteen in roman numerals (XIV). And on her neck below her right ear and just a little bit to the left was a tattoo of a pentagonal skull. And finally her waist length hair. Instead of falling down the front of her body, It was flowing down her back, two longer locks were framing her face and her spiky bangs fell in front of her eyes. The black mask was still covering half of her face.

"Wow, great choice Rin- I mean Irina" she almost called her Rina-chan, like Kakashi did and earned a growl from the shinigami/shinobi.

"I just hope this was worth it" She grumbled. She noticed one of them was, Kurenai, was gone and she asked where the genjutsu mistress went off to.

"She went to meet her genin team" Irina's eyes widened, shit! She was gonna miss it!

Irina was suddenly gone and she shouted back at them as she ran "Thank for the trip!"

* * *

**Four hours ago:**

**Naruto**

"Team 7, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and Sakura Haruno" Iruka rattled of the last if the names.

"WHAT!" Ino complained. "How come forehead gets to be on a team with Sasuke-kun?!"

"True love always triumphs in the end Ino-pig-chan!" She pinched and pulled up her nose in an imitation of a pig.

"Why, why did have to be her?" Sasuke thought.

While Naruto on the other hand was curious as to how this would pan out. The two who tied for rookie of the year and the kunoichi of the year in one team. He wondered how his sister would react.

He was pulled away from his thoughts by Iruka's voice. "Alright you should wait here for you're jōnin sensei to arrive" he than exited the premises.

They waited...

A tall man with spiky, black hair and a cigarette in his mouth came to pick up team 10. Which was the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho.

More jōnin came to get their teams.

After that a woman with black hair and red eyes came to pick up team eight. This was Hinata, Shino and Kiba's team.

Sasuke watched the second hand on the clock move and he heard each tick, tock.

They waited for another hour.

"Tick, tock..."

And another

"Tick, tock..."

And another hour. This was getting ridiculous.

Sakura eventually got fed up and punched a wall. "When is this guy gonna get here Shannaro!" The loud noise had woken up Naruto who had been sleeping for the past two hours.

He yawned loudly "Huh where am I? We're still here? What time is it?" No body answered him and he saw that it was only the three of them left. Then he took a look at the clock and lost it.

"No, no, noooooo!" He stood up and started looking around as if trying to find somewhere to hide. "Kuso! This can't be happening! This can't be happening, oh Kami-sama why me?!" He started banging his head on the wall.

Sakura just watched with a confused expression while Sasuke was slightly ticked off. "Dobe, what the hell are you going on about?"

"Think about it Teme! We are waiting for a jōnin who's three hours late, who else could it be" the young Uchiha's eyes widened in realization.

"No! why did it have to be him?" Sasuke asked no one and slammed his forhead on his desk.

"I thought it was against the rules!" "Slam!"

Sakura watched with a completely confused expression. What was happening. She just kept staring at her teammates spazing out till she heard the unmistakable sound if the classroom door opening.

One eye stared at them amusedly. Naruto screamed.

"You guys Team 7?" They nodded.

"Why did it have to be you?!" Naruto pointed at him and he seemed to get annoyed.

"My first impression of all of you...I hate you. Meet me on the roof in five minutes or else." With that the man disappeared. They didn't miss the threatening tone in his voice.

"We better get up there or else he will kill us" Naruto immediately started moving and Sasuke did the same.

"Wait who was that guy?!" Sakura called after them.

The blonde looked terrified. "My nii-san"

* * *

**Kakashi**

"Good you're here on time" They were winded and at some point they had to carry Sakura. And the pinkette herself couldn't believe this was their sensei he seemed only a few years older than them.

As if nothing had happened the jōnin got on with it. "I want to know you"

"What do you mean nii-san?" He glared at Naruto.

"You do not call me that here" He all but snarled and the jinchuriki shrunk back.

"What I mean is we need to get to know each other first. Likes, dislikes, dream hobbies, that sort of thing."

"Um sensei, why don"t you start so we can have an example." Sakura asked.

He nodded "Okay, my name is Kakashi Hatake..." They waited

"That's it"

The three genin sweat dropped. They didn't get anything out of that but Kakashi gestured for them to do it.

"Bubble gum you first"

Sakura blanched. "Well, my name is Sakura Haruno. I like flowers, my friends and my family. My hobbies are studying theory and reading books. My dream well I..."She blushed and stared at Sasuke and suddenly squealed.

Kakashi stuck a finger into his ear "Oh boy"

"Broody you're next"

Sasuke glared at him and he glared back.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like my best friend Naruto,-

"Aww Sasuke I knew you loved m-" Kakashi clamped a hand over his mouth

-my older brother Itachi and tomatoes. I hate those children who play ninja and don't take being a shinobi seriously. My dream- no, my ambition is to kill a certain man and restore my clan along with my brother."

Sasuke didn't look at them once. "Great an avenger" Kakashi thought

"All right blondie, you're up"

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. I love ramen and my nii-san and nee-chan"

Despite the serious demeanor Kakashi had to smile beneath his mask at that.

"I hate people who don't get to know someone before judging them and bullies, My dream is to be the best Hokage this village has ever seen."

There was a pregnant silence after that until a new voice cut right through it.

"So I have a fangirl, an emo with a duck's ass for hair and an idiot with high hopes. And here I thought you would choose better scarecrow"

The three genin in front of him looked around for the source. And they jumped when Irina materialized next to him.

"Good to see you finally made- what are you wearing?" He did a double take at the orange haired girl's wardrobe change. He tried to hide the pink tint in his cheeks and succeeded.

"Kurenai and the others practically dragged me." She explained before she was tackled by her outoto.

"You look great nii-chan" She smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Thank you Naru-chan" those present had to smile at the tender moment.

"Now get you're ass back in line!" Irina barked at the younger Namikaze. He scrambled to get his seat back next to Sakura.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" in return the older kunoichu glared a her and she shrunk back.

"You didn't tell them?" She raised an eyebrow at Kakashi.

"It honestly slipped my mind" He continued reading a book. "Well brats this is you're sensei." He said offhandedly not even taking his eye of the book.

**AN: Done**

**In the last chapter I said that niether Kakashi nor Irina would be sensei, Well I'm still right. Because its both of them.**


	6. Waiting

**So here we are once again. I forgot to tell you that a lot of the ages have changed, i will put them at the bottom. Props to you if you know the song I slipped in. (I do not own it)**

**Chapter 5: Waiting**

**Naruto**

"What do you mean sensei? I thought that was you?!" Of course Naruto would react like this.

"I mean, that along with me, she is your jōnin sensei" He didn't even look away from Irina. The kid would be mad at them later but it for now it was worth it to see his face.

"Two? But isn't that against the rules?" Sakura looked between the two who were ignoring them.

"Hm, What? Oh yeah, well Kakashi here, loves me so much that he can't train you guys without me." Irina smirked and her fellow sensei glared at her.

"The hokage decided to make an exception for you three, special cases." Kakashi hesitated at the word special. "In any case we are you're teachers and I want all of you to meet us at six tomorrow morning at training ground three for your final test"

"What?! But we already went through the finals." Sakura complained but she was ignored.

"Oh and don't eat any breakfast, or you'll puke. Ja ne"

"Wait we-

And with that the two shunshined away leaving one confused kunoichi and two frustrated shinobi with their complaints and questions still on their lips.

"Unbelievable!" Naruto slammed his forehead into the railing.

"Why did it have to be them?" Sasuke cradled his head. "Why, why why?"

"What's so bad about them, they seem strict but they can't be that bad, can they?"

Naruto looked at her in horror. "You don't understand! We've seen those two train. Its like watching monsters, they do the most intense, grueling training I've ever seen."

She wanted to ask for an example but it was as if Sasuke read her mind.

"Climbing the side of a mountain, with one hand tied behind your back and no chakra. While the other chucks huge boulders and, in Irina nee-san case, lava at you."

"Running around Konoha till you're feet bleed and they still keep running. They even wear these braces that weigh a ton" Naruto just kept staring his head stuck to the railing

"They will go all out in a sword fight and try to maim each other." Sasuke said

Naruto turned back to his two teammates. "And they spar like they want to kill each other. And right after it seems like they heal in an instant. Hell, they're probably training and looking for ways to torture us right now!"

* * *

**Irina**

NOPE

"Hey Ayame. One large miso"

Her order was placed in front of her and she waited for Ayame to look away for just a second and scarfed it down in no time. She ignored the brunette waitress' frustrated yells as she face her patner in crime.

"The look on his face, freakin' priceless" They laughed at the recent memory.

"He's going to be angry when we get home." Kakashi informed her and she just laughed.

"The we take a mission that'll take the entire day, knowing him he'll be out like a light before we get back." Kakashi nodded but didn't look up from his blue book.

"I gave you that three days ago and now you won't let it go even though you've read it through twice." Irina shook her head and waited for him to answer.

Kakashi: "It's such a good story."

Irina: "And you're such a fuckin' sap"

Kakashi: "You have to admit it, it's a good book."

Irina begrudgingly agreed "I salute you John Green" and she made a mock salute.

"We should get that mission."

* * *

**Naruto**

He woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:00 a.m.

Having seen his brother and sister's rooms empty, he assumed they were already at training ground three. But when he got there it was only Sakura and Sasuke.

"Where are they?" Sakura asked.

"How the hell should I know?" Naruto growled, holding his head in his hand, not fully awake yet.

The pinkette scowled at him. "You live with them, don't you?" he ignored her and he put his attention on their other teammate. "Morning Teme" The Uchiha raised a hand on greeting.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" They both cringed.

"All right that's enough." Irina suddenly materialized in front of them, they all jumped and the shinigami/shinobi fought a laugh.

"What the hell nee-chan?!"

"There will be none of that" her tone was strict and they all suddenly felt compelled to stand up straighter and not look her in the eyes.

"Here I am you're sensei, maybe someday you two will earn the right to just call me senpai, but as for you, you do not call me that as long as we are on duty."

"Hai" they said.

"Good. Now this will be you're final test, if you don't pass you do get a punishment. I can't say what it is, that's Kashi's job and we can't start without him." They all nodded in understanding and waited for her to say more but instead she just sat down on the grass and pulled out a bowl of Ichiraku ramen from a storage scroll she had in her pouch.

The three genin's stomachs immediately started rumbling.

_"They didn't eat!" _She fought back another laugh "They fell for it" she mumbled under her breath.

"Why do you get ramen?" Naruto was standing over her, pointing an accusing finger.

She lightly slapped the back of his head. He went crashing down face first, half buried in the dirt.

"Because I'm not the one taking the Goddamned test, and what do you think you're doing? Do you want to lose that finger?" He got up and glared at her. She raised her hand to head-slap him again but he whimpered and hid behind Sasuke who glared at him.

She finally turned her attention to the ramen, she didn't miss how Sasuke and Sakura leaned in and stared as she put the bowl to her mask. They watched her start slurping the soup through her mask.

"How are you doing that?" Sakura asked and Irina just winked at her.

They waited for an hour.

"Where is he?" Sasuke was getting fed up.

"How the hell should I know am I his babysitter?"

And another hour.

By this time the three of them had genin asleep to the sound of Irina playing a guitar, that she grabbed from her storage scroll:

_**"Are we we are, are we we are the waiting unknown**_

_**The rage and love, the story of my life**"_

She sang. Where the hell is he, Irina thought. Even she was getting impatient.

* * *

**Kakashi **

He resisted the urge to whistle. He took his time, waking up, eating breakfast and walking to training ground three.

The only thing that was keeping him from skipping was the thought of this test. Another generation of team 7 going through the same test. Would they pass. Would this be the team that finally got him to retire from the ANBU corpse? He's failed every single team he has been given. And now he has the boy he considers his little brother.

And then there's his fellow jōnin sensei.

He and Irina had gone through a lot in the past year, they didn't get her memories back but they had given her new ones. She even told him her favorite. The times that they would sit on top of his former sensei's head, she would tell stories about her squad, he would tell stories about things she missed and they ate popsicles just like when they were kids. But his favorite was when He, Irina and Itachi sat on top of the Yondaime's head and watched the sunset, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder and he carried her back home.

He smiled at the memory. But immediately stopped smiling when he saw he was already at the training ground and had three angry genin glaring at him.

He was suddenly knocked to the ground, flat on his back with Irina on top of him.

"When you said you'd be late, you could've told me that you meant by three hours!"

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life" Kakashi shrugged.

She started laughing. "Bullshit, you didn't wake up on time"

He distinctly heard Sasuke clear his throat. And he realized the position they were in. She was straddling him. Her chest was flush against his and their faces were inches apart, forget the forearm she had pressed against his throat.

He fought down a blush as she got off him and offered him a hand. She pulled him up without any effort, slapped the back of his head lightly. and turned to the kids. "Alright now we can start with the test" Irina said. She picked up her guitar and started playing.

"Umm. Kakashi nii-sensei?" Naruto caught himself "What exactly is the test?"

"This" he held up two bells on a red string. "You each have to get one bell from me to pass. If by noon one of you fail to do so, then we'll send you back to the academy"

He wanted to scare them but only saw determination in their eyes. He pulled out am alarm clock and placed on one of the three wooden poles nearby.

The three genin started twitching. He has an alarm clock but can't wake up on time?!

"You better come at us with the intent to kill or else you're not gonna pass" Irina looked them straight in the eye and they flinched.

"But sensei won't you get hurt?" Sakura asked and Irina scoffed while Kakshi just smiled.

"Like scarecrow said you have until noon let the test begin...NOW!"

Immediately the three genin scrambled to find somewhere to hide. The two jōnin observed and followed their movements easily.

Kakashi observed them. Sakura was in the bushes. Sasuke was hidden in the leaves of the trees. And Naruto was... Right in front of them?

"You got a death wish Naru-chan?" Not even looking up from her guitar.

The jinchuriki didn't answer and charged at them. Opposite to how he thought they would react, Kakashi sat down with a book and Irina just stood there playing a song.

He went for a punch to her mid-section but she just stepped to the right and he flew past her.

"I thought we taught you more than that" Kakashi commented from under a tree.

Naruto grinned "Exactly" The ground beneath Irina's feet exploded and an army of clones jumped out and attacked her.

She weaved and bobbed through they're attacks, dodging left and right. She saw the original running towards he and she just side stepped and tripped him. All the while not stopping her playing.

Naruto's teammates were a little discouraged. Even though it was amazing that Naruto could use solid clones, it didn't do them any good. Kakashi and Irina would just block and dodge the attacks.

Naruto had tried stabbing her with a kunai but she blocked it with the chain on her right arm. "Come on outoto. You can do better than this!" She pushed him back and sent him through the air and he slammed into one of the wooden poles.

He tried to get up but found himself tied to the post. Kakashi got up from behind and bumped fists with Irina while their little brother glared at them.

Sasuke saw this as his chance. Thinking they were distracted he snuck up behind them and made the right handseals.

**_"Katōn: Gōkakyū no jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!)_**

The ball of flame soared towards their backs and it just passed right through them. _  
_

"What the hell!?" he asked out loud.

"Nice, but I'd expect more from Tachi's outoto" he whirled around to see Irina leaning on a tree, no longer holding her instrument. She suddenly threw three shuriken at him in rapid succesion.

He jumped back to dodge them. And looked back to see Irina had disappeared once again. "Where did she go?"

He got his answer in the form of a kick to the back of his head. He went flying into the trees.

"Sasuke-kun!" A shriek came from the forest. And Sakura came running out of the woods and rushed to the unconcious Uchiha's side.

She didn't even notice Kakashi behind her who pressed a point in her neck and made her pass out.

* * *

**Naruto**

His team had been demolished.

It wasn't even an hour and two of them were passed out and he was tied to a pole.

Irina pulled out a water bottle from her storage seal and poured the contents on the knocked out genin.

"Ah! My hair?" Sakura was ready to punch whoever drenched her but instantly cowered when she met the glare of her two sensei's.

"That was pathetic." Her words were harsh but they needed to hear this.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "None of you even realized what this exercise was really about." He waited for an answer when there was none he continued. "Teamwork"

They all looked bewildered. Their orange-haired sensei turned to her younger brother. "You tried to attack me head on with a half assed plan and completely disregarded you're surroundings."

She turned to Sasuke "You let you're guard down in the middle of dodging and left yourself open to a second attack. Plus that sneak attack you tried was sloppy, I could hear the leaves crunching under your feet a mile away."

She glared daggers at Sakura "You rushed out without any thought. Just because he got hurt. In the field you would've died. You let your emotion get in the way of what's important. Its girls like you that give kunoichi a bad name" the pinkette whimpered

Kakashi stared at them and they wouldn't meet his eye. "Back in our genin days doing those things would've gotten you killed, or worse, captured. But if the three of you had worked together you could've won"

They looked at the forest floor ashamed.

"We'll try this again later, after all it isn't noon yet. We'll give you a different test. But should you fail, we won't be sending you to the academy, we will take you out of the ninja program and you will never be shinobi of konoha." They're eyes widened in fear.

They watched their seniors walk away from them while they caught they're breath and thought about the situation.

**AN: Ha! And you thought I was gonna make the genin OP.**

**Anyway yeah the ages.**

**Kakashi: 16- sept 15**

**Irina: 16- Jan 28**

**Itachi: 16- june 9**

**Obito: 16- feb 10**

**Asuma: 25- oct 18**

**Kurenai: 24- june 11**

**Genma: 25- july 17**

**Anko: 23- oct 24**

**Gai: 26- jan 1**

**And everyone else is their original age.**

**The reason is because:**

**1. While Kurenai, Asuma and Gai graduated at the age of twelve, Kakashi, Irina and Itachi ( former team 7 ) graduated at the same time at age 5.**

**2. Obito and Irina were born a year after Itachi and Kakashi.**

**3. Anko was not in the academy with them.**

**4. Genma and Gai are a year older than Asuma and Kurenai.**

**5. Yes that does mean that Naruto is only four years younger than Irina, which mean he was four when she disappeared at age eight.**

**As you can see I put up they're birthday as the wiki confirms. Because wikipedia is so reliable! (Sarcastic voice)**

**Kakashi and Itachi are a year older than Irina, her birthday is just early into the year. So they are turning seventeen and she will turn seventeen the next year.**

**The setting for this is in march. Considering that the War against aizen was in winter (late november-december) and its been 15 months.**


	7. A Day to Remember

**Yup. I just keep it building. I hate myself.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach.**

**Chapter 6: A Day to Remember**

**Irina **

"This is getting me nowhere" she said to her zanpakuto and her hollow.

**_"Well rider, you can't honestly expect them to be strong enough can you?"_** He hollow Inari, as she'd named her, said while drinking tea.

In her mind she could think up anything for the two entities even the huge mansion that was now looming over her.

"I don't want them to go out into this world unprepared, they could get killed." Irina frowned at her own words.

Zangetsu sighed. "**Irina if you don't want them to get killed then protect them."**

"Yeah but what if, fuck I don't know some psycho suddenly grabs one of them and threatens to kill him or her and I'm not there"

**"Then you're going to have to trust them to follow what you teach them.**" Her zanpakuto spirit downed some tea.

This wasn't helping at all. She exited her mind

She sighed.

"You've been doing a lot of that" Kakashi commented. They had a plan and she didn't like it.

"Mmm" was her only response.

Honestly, was her outoto that dense? Unfortunately he was proving himself to be as he cursed and spat out insult from his position. He kept saying that it was bullshit what they were doing. They didn't get it. Out there, in this world or in the world she thought she came from, people you can trust are the difference between your life and death.

"All we can do now is hope that they can get it." Kakashi looked at the three genin from the tree they were hiding in.

"Mmm" she nodded this time.

"All right gakis! We're giving you a second chance." Irina went behind Naruto and cut him loose.

"Really? All right! This time we know what to do" Naruto punched the air.

Irina's eyes were covered by her bangs. She suddenly grabbed Sakura by her long pink hair and put a kunai against her throat.

The other two genin tensed and fell into fighting stances.

"What are you doing?!" Sasuke asked

"The rules say that only two of you get the bells if we just get rid of one of you then we'll let you pass, but the one of you is gonna have to go." Irina said darkly.

"This is insane!" Naruto didn't know where to look.

"Why, she just tells you off for no good reason. And Sasuke she just annoys you right? Always following you and stalking you. Its better I end her here and now rather than she gets you killed on the field because she's so useless and stupid" Sakura trembled and sobbed, not only because the situation but also because of the truth in Irina's words.

"Don't do it" To their surprise it was Sasuke who said it.

"Why?" She asked

"Because, sh- she...she..." Naruto stuttered

"Why?!" she demanded. Come on, you know the answer. She kept saying in her head. You don't leave anyone behind to die, that was what she was taught and what she wanted them to realize

They both charged at her and were stopped by Kakashi who held them up by their collars.

They both glared at him and he met their eyes with his. "You...pass!"

He dropped them and Irina did the same with Sakura.

"WHAT?!" Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets."You mean that was a test?!"

"Yeah it was" Irina said in a monotone.

"And you passed!" Kakashi said with a happier tone. They could've sworn Irina muttered something about sticking a knife in his optimism, or his eye.

"You see, like we said, the point of this test is teamwork. You failed to get these bells but you made up for it by defending Sakura and risking your lives to save her. You didn't leave her behind just so you could pass."

"You'll pass us because of that?" Sasuke was hoping it was true.

Kakashi looked above them. "In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even lower than trash. You didn't leave Sakura to die just so you two get off free." They looked at him with a light in their eyes.

"Sugoi!" Naruto said but Irina just shook her head and smiled at him.

"You're gonna have to give Obito and me credit for those little speeches you give someday" She laid a hand on his shoulder.

"All right, you're officially genin of team 7 now you can eat" She still had no emotion in her voice.

"So what do you kids wanna ea-"

"RAMEN!" All of them sweatdropped and watched the jinchuriki run off to Ichiraku's

"I guess we're having ramen" Kakashi scratched the back of his head and started walking with the rest of them following. But Irina had a sudden thought.

"You boys go ahead, I want to talk to Sakura here" She saw the pinkettes eyes fill with fear.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't question her and kept walking.

After they were out of earshot she turned to Sakura. "I'm sorry"

The younger kunoichi was shocked. This wasn't what she expected.

"You three had to realize that you need each other. And in your case you're gonna need the other two a lot." This both relieved and discouraged the girl

"Look, I'm you're sensei, which means I'm gonna teach you. But you should know that what I will teach is not for someone weak. You have to be strong-willed and _not_ a fangirl. I refuse to train someone who wants to be a shinobi just because of a stupid crush. Are we clear?" Sakura nodded stiffly.

"Perfect. Let's go" she eye smiled and walked off leaving a sweatdropping Sakura.

* * *

"No"

"Oh come its just you left" Kakashi pleaded with her.

"I should've just stabbed you in the eye" She didn't even look up from a book she was holding. They were waiting for their order when the others realised that she was the only one who hadn't given an introduction on the roof. "I refuse"

"Come on it's team 7 tradition" She sighed.

"Alright fine but you're gonna go after me cause all you gave them was you're name" Kakashi nodded and eye smiled triumphantly.

"My name is Irina, Irina Namikaze. I like my teammates Tachi and Kashi and I tolerate Naruto-

"Hey!"

"I like good books, playing guitar and music in general, I also love sweets" She pointedly looked at Kakashi.

"I hate assholes, perverts and people who judge others without knowing the truth. My hobbies are training, making music and art and reading, I also like spending time with my outoto. My current goal is to remember everything from when I was a child" She had a sad look in her eyes but she hid it well.

Before any of the genin could ask Kakashi stepped in to fill the silence.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like my teammates Itachi and Rina-chan I also like good books and miso soup with eggplant. I dislike traitors, people who abandon others and sweets, except popsicles." He and Irina shared a look. "My hobbies are training, reading and spending time with my family. My goal is to train you three to be the best you can be and help someone get her memories back"

Irina gave him a grateful look. "So that's us. You've earned the right to know who we are."

"Order up!" Ayame set all of their orders in front of them. Sixteen bowls of miso, half of which were for just Naruto and Irina had three while the other two had two each and Sakura had one bowl.

"So what now?" Sakura asked her voice lowered considerably.

"Now all of you can go while I train Kashi to use his sharingan." This caught Sasuke's attention.

"You're welcome to watch but it's not all that exciting." The three genin nodded eagerly and Irina shrugged.

Sasuke and Sakura watched the three masked shinobi carefully as they picked up their bowls and then face planted when they started eating through their masks.

"How do you three do that?!" Sasuke exclaimed

"What do you mean?" Naruto deadpanned but he was smiling behind the mask

"Ugh. Nevermind!"

* * *

"Keep going"

Irina barked at Kakashi. He had kept the sharingan going for five hours now but he was nearly running on empty. She kept an eye on his chakra level very carefully.

Sasuke observed from under a tree nearby. He was amazed that someone without Uchiha blood could use the dojutsu so well. "It was Itachi nii-san" they had gotten used to calling each other's older brothers and sister nii-san and nee-san.

He turned his head to look at Naruto. "He helped Kakashi nii-san use his sharingan, and he trained him." Sasuke nodded he knew the story of Kakashi's transplanted eye.

Just then Kakashi tipped to the left and would've hit the ground if Irina hadn't caught him. He was exhausted, but he was awake. Irina laid his head on her lap and placed a hand on his abdomen. Sakura observed green energy surround her sensei's hand and heal her other teacher.

She wasn't healing him. Not physically anyway. She was restoring his chakra, just like how a shinigami heals a fellow shinigami by restoring their **reiatsu. **When she was done she acted like nothing had happened.

"Next time we'll work on keeping it going while you're using other techniques ok?" He nodded.

"Thanks Rina-chan"

"No problem Kashi-kun." The words slipped out she was about to take it back but she heard a soft laugh in the baritone voice of the person on her lap.

"You haven't called me kun since we were kids" Now this was catching the attention of the three genin, their thought lay somewhere between:

Naruto: _"I hope she remembers soon" _

Sasuke: _"I wonder if she can train me"_

Sakura: _"Eeeeeeeh! Are they together?"_

The latter had stars in her eyes while she stared at the interaction.

"Really I used to call you that?" Irina asked.

"Yeah, I remember that I hated it. But you did it every time I called you Rina-chan. And you hated that nickname when someone other than you're parents used it."

"So we called each other those things just to annoy one another?" He nodded and she shook her head.

"You got used to it though" He continued "By the time we were assigned to Team 7 it was my official nickname for you and Kashi-kun was yours for me. We accepted it. And its also the reason you don't get mad at me when I call you that."

Irina remembered about a month ago Asuma tried calling her that and she instinctively glared daggers at him. Obito called her the same name last week and she elbowed him in the gut. But every time it was Kakashi she would, for some reason, smile.

"So do you let anyone else call you Kashi-kun?" She asked him

He shook his head. "No one calls me Kashi, Scarescrow or Kashi-kun except you. I wouldn't let them anyway" She felt a strange sense of satisfaction from that.

"I wish I could remember that stuff and I wish I could remember who I was " She smiled sadly beneath her mask but Kakashi could see it.

"I think I can help with that" he sat up and faced her.

"Hm?" He reached for something at his neck and unclasped a silver necklace he took her hand and dropped the necklace on her palm. She looked at it closely, the chain had the kind of links you would see for a military dog tag but smaller. The charm on it was a small silver capital letter K.

She was about to ask him if it was a joke. But then she observed it more. It looked familiar.

"Have I..." she trailed off looking closer.

"Yup, you gave it to me actually. When we were six, we had this mission in _**Mitsu no Kuni**_ (_Land of Honey)_ and there was this man selling, necklaces with letters on them saying if you have one of the necklaces with the letter of your first name on it you would be lucky. But you being you, you didn't want to do like everyone else was doing so you bought the first letter of the first name that came to your mind."

She took a guess "Was it Kakashi?"

He nodded. "We always said it was a symbol for who you were, someone who is literally one of a kind and can never just be like everyone else, in a good way of course"

"Why do you have it?" Irina asked.

"With what happened with my father's...incident I was fading fast and you gave me this saying I should remember who I was and now considering everything, I think it's time you have it back."

She didn't know what to say. He had kept something from her for ten years and now he was returning it as a gift "Thank you"

"Here let me" He took the necklace again and gestured for her to turn around. He paushed her bright orange hair to the side and she held it there, he put the silver chain around her neck and Irina could feel the heat radiating from his hands that were so close to her neck.

When the necklace was in place she felt him touch the ink mark on my neck. she stiffened.

"Never noticed this before" He said as he traced the skull pattern with his fingers.

I let go of my hair and it fell back down. I turned around and hugged him, he seemed shocked. "Thank you, really"

He held her there for a while and stroked her hair "No problem Rina-chan" he whispered.

The moment was ruined by high-pitched squeals. They broke apart and saw Sakura staring at them adoringly. And at some time Ayame and Kurenai had come to the traning ground and watched the two of them.

"Ahhhhhhh! So sweet!" To their surprise it was Kurenai who was fangirling hard.

Irina turned to them and gave them the finger. But it only made them laugh. The necklace didn't exactly make her remember again but it did remind her of a day she wouldn't forget.


	8. Shopping Again!

**So yeah this is a filler chap.**

**Disclaimer: I called Kishimoto and Tite Kubo and asked them if i could have Bleach and Naruto all I got was them laughing and hanging up on me.**

**Chapter 7: Shopping!...Again!**

**Irina**

She ran her thumb over the engraved Konoha symbol in the plated metal.

She couldn't believe it. "You've had it all these years?" she asked looking up at the Sandaime.

He nodded and smiled. "I thought that someday, I would be giving it to you're brother when he became a shinobi, Kami knows that it overjoyed me to see you have it again." She smiled behind the mask and tackle-hugged her surrogate grandfather.

"Thank you, thank you." She couldn't stop saying it. She would've been brought to tears if she had not shut her emotion away.

"You've earned it back" he said

She had just been given her hitai ate back, her old one. Black fabric and long ties that reached her back **(Think Naruto's headband in Shippuden). **To say she was happy was putting it mildly

* * *

**Kakashi**

"Why are we here?" Naruto asked him

"Because today we start your real training and Irina told me you three should choose your weapons"

That excited the three rookies and they started thinking of possible weapons.

When they got to the best weapons place in the village no one was at the counter but they decided to look around anyway.

Sakura was looking at everything, while Sasuke and Naruto were looking at the swords hanging on the wall.

"I think that one would be awesome." he pointed to massive broad sword with a red handle on the wall.

"Yeah but its big for you " Kakashi pointed out

"I can still learn to use it, nee-chan has that huge sword on her back" This made Sasuke wonder about that sword he had seen it a lot of times but he had never seen Irina use it.

"Hey why does Irina-sensei never use the sword on her back?" He asked Kakashi and Naruto whose faces adopted serious looks.

"Because the sword isn't meant for humans. She could use it against one but that would be almost certain death for her opponent. Rina-chan likes a challenge and using that sword would be using her full strength. Her enemy wouldn't stand a chance"

"What do you mean not meant for humans?" Sakura joined the conversation.

Naruto thought about that for a moment. "Well, the thing is she's not exactly human herself, you remember those rumors about her being a demon slayer in her world?" Sakira and Sasuke nodded.

"The rumors are partially true, she is a kind of Shinigami, a god of death not _the _**_Sh_****_inigami_,** mind you, but a kind of underling of the god himself, so she's not really a god but she's not fully human either. Not anymore." Kakashi explained "The sword on her back is called a **zanpakutō (Soul Slayer). **Like the name entails it's for souls not only the evil kind but to also send the good ones to the other side.

This was news to the other two, she was even stronger than they thought. "But wait what do you mean the evil kind of spirits?" The masked brothers shared a look.

"Heartless monsters that feed on the souls of human, dead or alive. They especially love eating the souls of strong shinigami. They have these empty, soulless eyes and holes in their chests. The worst part about them is they never stop wanting to feed."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as they spoke of these demons. "She fights them?" Sasuke's eyes widened at the thought of facing such monsters.

Their sensei nodded. "They are found everywhere, even in this world. Where do you think those urban legends about "not going out alone at night lest demon take your soul" came from?" Naruto finished

The bell on the front door of the shop rang and the girl they spoke of stepped into their view.

"Hey, you guys picked anything yet?" She saw the serious expression on her team's faces. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Kakashi stepped in and eye-smiled at her "It's nothing Rina-chan, we were just talking about missions and how dangerous they could get."

Irina nodded "Good you should be prepared. Anyway what weapons have you thought of?"

The three genin stopped staring at her and snapped out of their trance. Naruto stepped up first.

"Me and Sasuke were thinking that swords would be a good idea."

"A classic but not many people master the art of the sword. There are lot of different styles."

"We know" They went back to looking at the blades on the wall.

"And you Sakura, you choose anything yet?" She shook her head.

"I can't decide" Irina thought about that for a moment.

"I think we can do something about that."

* * *

They were back at training ground three. Kakashi couldn't stop smiling and staring at the hitai ate on Irina's forehead.**  
**

"When did you get it back?" He finally asked.

"This morning, from Oji-san" she replied taking something out of her pouch. Three pieces of paper.

"Uh what do we need paper for Irina-sensei?" Naruto asked finally used to calling her that.

"With this we can determine what your elemental chakra alignment is. Weather you have wind, fire, water, earth or lightning chakra, you just have to channel your chakra through it"

She handed one to Kakashi who held it between his index and middle finger. The team 7 observed the paper crumple into a tiny ball in the palm of Kakashi's hand it then got soggy and wet.

"When the paper crinkles that it mean you have an alignment to lightning. If it gets wet then it's water. If it burns obviously it's fire. And if it crumbles, you have earth. There are some exceptions. Sometimes someone will get two or more of them like me . And that means there a possibility of a _kekkei genkai_." Kakashi explained

Sakura spoke up "We've read about those in the academy"

Irina nodded. "That's good, we don't have to explain. Over time you can learn to control other elements but for now the one you get is your natural affinity."

She handed them one each. And told them what to do.

"Okay. Sakura you first." The pinkette was nervous that she would get something weak. She tried it and to her surprise the paper turned brown and crumbled to dust in her hand, all of it.

"Woah you've got a strong earth affinity. People with that elemental alignment often show exceptional physical strength. You're lucky there's have a few earth techniques we can teach you" Sakura nodded and let the dust fall from her hand to the ground.

"You next mopey" Kakashi nodded to Sasuke who scowled at him while Naruto snickered.

The paper in his hand crinkled slightly and then suddenly lit on fire. The flames made quick work of the flimsy material and burned it to ashes.

"You've got fire and a smaller lightning affinity. Two, that's impressive." she lightly smacked him on the back of the head when she saw him smile arrogantly.

"Don't let it get to your head kid" Sasuke rubbed the back of his skull. "Fire usually is the kind of element you'd see in this country. It shows a strong will and a determined spirit. While lightning usually shows speed and cunning."

"Okay Naruto you're up"

"I can't wait to see what I get, _dattebayo_!" The jōnin smiled at his verbal tick.

_"Just like his mother"_ Kakashi thought.

"Here we go!" Naruto channeled his chakra through the paper hoping it would burn but instead the paper ripped itself apart. First in two halves, then four pieces, then eight, until the paper was just little scraps that flew off the blonde's hand.

"Woah! What does that mean Nii-san?"

The two older shinobi would have scolded him if they weren't smiling like they were.

"Naruto you have a very strong wind affinity. Wind can be an unstoppable force and cut through anything if you're strong enough."

"Sugoi! But why were you two smiling like that?"

Kakashi fixed him with a look of pride. "Because your Tou-san was just the same. He had an amazingly powerful alignment with wind and it looks like he passed it on to you."

The blonde couldn't help the huge grin that grew beneath his mask. "Sugoi!" he repeated.

"But Irina-sensei what's your element?" Sakura in response the orange-haired girl took out another piece of chakra paper and channelled her _**reiryoku**_ through it.

Kakashi knew what was going to happen, but he observed closely, anyway. The paper tore into four sections. One fourth went up in blue flames. Another sparked with red lightning before it started crumpling itself into a barely visible ball. Another one-fourth started getting soaked and soggy. And the last one crumbled to barely visible dust particles in her hand.

The three genin gawked at her. But the shinobi/shinigami just eye smiled like nothing happened.

"Alright I think we can determine what weapons would be right for you"

They headed back to the weapons shop and on the way he decided to engage her in conversation.

"You are such a show off" he didn't say it offensively and she could tell.

She shrugged "They asked"

"Mhm. I'm sure that's all it was Rina-chan" she didn't miss the sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Pshh, I'm not like Genma, scarecrow. I wouldn't brag about what I can do" She rolled her eyes at him

"Mhm" That annoyed her. She slapped the back of his head.

"Ugh, forget it, we're here." She pushed open the door to the shop and had Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto go in, she then stepped in herself and closed the door in Kakashi's face.

He mock glared at her and she stared back with "innocent" eyes.

"Will you two stop flirting so we can get this over with!" Naruto finally screamed seeing they were being ignored.

He suddenly had his sister's fist rubbing against his skull and her arm around his head in an unbreakable hold. "What. Do .You mean. Flirting. Naru-chan?" She stopped in between rubbing the top of his head with her fist harder with each word.

"Ow! ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She immediately stopped after that while Kakashi and the other two genin sweat dropped at the brother-sister duo's antics.

"Good" He and Irina adressed the genin one by one "Sakura, with your element you're gonna want to get something that you can use in sync with your fists and we're also getting you wrist and ankle weights to increase your speed, for now I think ten for each wrist and twenty for each ankle is enough." The pinkette nodded nervously.

Kakashi heard his surrogate brother snicker. "As if she could handle anything heavier-ah!"

Sakura grabbed his ear and punch him in the gut with her free hand. The jōnin present just laughed at their little bastard of a brother. Sakura then huffed and went around the store to search for her weapon.

"Serves you right. Now Sasuke you and Naruto wanted to try swords right?" Kakashi asked the Uchiha nodded.

"I think I know what you're looking for, come with me." She watched the two boys walk away into the aisles of the store and she turned to her little brother.

"A sword?" She asked him and the blonde nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! I wanted one just like Kaa-san used to have." Irina cringed. Her outoto could talk so freely about their deceased mother, but then again he didn't remember as much as she did about them, he was only three or four when it happened.

"So a katana?" She asked and he nodded excitedly.

"Then we're not getting one here." He asked what she meant but she didn't answer him and just waited for the other to finish their business. After a while Sasuke and Kakashi came back, with the former holding a ninjatō with a simple black handle.

She gestured for him to hand it over. She unsheathed it and examines the sword. She slid her finger down an inch of the blade. Her blood started seeping from a cut in her skin.

"Good choice" she complemented "Where's Sakura?" Kakashi jerked his thumb in the direction of an aisle filled with claws.

Sure enough she found the pink-haired kunoichi looking at the weapons.

"See something you like?" The girl jumped.

"Sensei you scared me!" Irina chuckled. "Well you said something that I'll be able to use along with my strength right? So I thought why not these?"

"Good eye Haruno" She saw Sakura stand up a but straighter at the compliment.

She took another look at the weapons. "See a pair that you like?" The girl nodded and pointed to a bright red pair on the top shelf. Irina saw why it caught the girl's attention. The glove part was bright red and it reached her elbows, acting like sleeves, the claws retracted over her arm. There were steel plates on the knuckles. And engraved in the metal were sakura petals.

"Nice choice, try it on" She grabbed it from the shelf and handed it the the younger girl.

It fit perfectly on her. She made fist and nearly impaled her hand when the claws came out. The claws were activated by a button at the base of the fingers and Sakura accidentally pushed it.

"It looks good on you, how much is it?" She picked up the tag on the weapon and her face dropped.

"Oh it's too expensive. I'll just pick something else." She started taking off the glove but Irina touched her arm.

"Don't be stupid, we're getting it" Sakura's eyes widened.

"But, sensei I don't have any mo-" Irina patted the back of her head but she still tilted forward.

"Me and Kakashi are paying for everyone's stuff." Irina rolled her eyes. "And don't even try to complain! We wanted you to pick out weapons and we're getting them for you, deal with it." Sakura smiled appreciatively at her sensei and she eye-smiled back.

She gestured for the girl to follow her to the counter. "Now come on let's go before Naruto gets bored and-"

_CRASH!_

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The cashier screamed out.

"Sorry!" She heard her little brother's voice ring out.

Irina shook her head and chuckled. Oh Naruto.

**AN: Done**

**I am trying to find a pic for her but it's so difficult. If any of you have mad skills at making these oc type thingies please help me!**


	9. Way Too Many Flashbacks

**AN: Hello, have you seen my berries? So I forgot to mention that this fic will be a crossover between a lot of stories but it is mainly bleach and Naruto.**

**Disclaimer:I once again say that i own not this, anime/manga.**

**Chapter 8: Way Too Many Flashbacks**

**Irina**

They were bloody and beaten

"Again"

She threw more shuriken and kunai at them and they scrambled to dodge them.

One of them clipped Sasuke's shoulder. He clutched it while blood seeped through his clothes. She lazily threw a kunai at them and they easily dodged it.

"I said you three can only take a break when we do this and you don't get hit, again!"

They had been training for hours. They expected her to teach them "cool jutsu" but she had to start with the basics.

"Why do we have to learn this crap anyway!?" her impatient little brother asked.

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pull him to eye level.

"In an unfair fight this "crap" could be the difference between you're life and death, now again" she snarled and he shrunk back.

They took their stances.

She threw three shuriken in quick succession at Naruto and he blocked them with his own kunai.

Irina picked up the pace and threw six at them both, then nine then twelve until she just kept going.

In the end they were exhausted but not a single weapon hit them. "Good take a break." She shunsined away and they collapsed on the ground.

For a while they just caught their breath and ate.

"Dobe you're sister's a sadist" Sasuke said after a while

Naruto nodded "She told us she was gonna train us not torture and maime us" he scowled.

Sakura kept silent but nodded, trying to breathe.

She suddenly jumped down from the trees and they leapt up in surprise.

"Maime you? You think that's what I'm doing? " They seemed surprised that she eavesdropped. "There is not a single shinobi from my time or before that, not Itachi, not Kakashi, not Obito and not even dad, that didn't go through this. We were born during the war, we were trained at a young age to be able to do anything, to withstand everything!"

They looked ashamed and they should be "You wanted me to train you, well this is the way I, and every other veteran shinobi in this village were trained, not the toned down, easy shit they teach you in the academy"

"If you gakis can't learn the way I did, the way I stayed alive, then I have _nothing_ to teach you" she shunshined away leaving them to think.

**Itachi**

"Ite!" Naruto cried out. All he did was touch his arm.

"Still sore from this afternoon." He mumbled. Itachi had tried to warn them as to what they were getting into.

"We told you she doesn't kid around when it comes to training" Kakashi's voice came from the hall of their home in the Uchiha compound, he was holding a roll of bandages.

His outoto scoffed. "If you can call just throwing kunai at us training."

"Well that's what our first exercise was as genin" He told him and Sasuke seemed shocked

"So she wasn't lying about that?" Itachi nodded in response

Kakashi put on a story telling voice "When we were kids, even before the academy we had our own sensei. Itachi had you're father, I had Minato sensei and Rina-chan had my dad."

The younger shinobi ate up the information.

"They had set us up with that training from day one and well, Rina-chan was always last one standing..."

* * *

**Flashback: **

"Again"

Their fathers had been making them do this for the past six hours.

The three five year old were woken at the ungodly hour of six a.m. and dragged to training ground seven.

"This is torture" a young Kakashi complained dodging a kunai to his left.

"Hn" Itachi deflected another three shuriken but they kept coming faster and in larger numbers.

"We can do it." Irina convinced them

They kept going until six of the weapons came hurling towards the young Uchiha. He jumped to the right dodging most of them but one kunai impaled itself in his shoulder.

Blood seeped through his black shirt and he kneeled on the ground, breathing hard.

"Tachi-san" Irina tried running towards him but a kunai was thrown at her feet. She jumped back. Fugaku scowled at her.

"Itachi you're out, you two keep going" Minato ordered and they prepared.

After a while, when it seemed that neither of them would get hit, a shuriken pierced the flesh of Kakashi's left thigh.

"Ite!" He cried out. His father took him out of the range of fire.

"Just you Rina-chan." Her father looked for her confirmation to start.

She nodded and immediately spun to her left as a kunai zipped past her, inches from her face. She grabbed it out of the air and deflected the rest of the projectiles.

She went on for hours until one finally landed in her arm. And even then she wanted to keep going.

* * *

**End flashback.**

**Itachi**

"Irina-sensei really went that long?" Sakura's looked up at me wide and curious

"Even after three hits she wanted to keep going but you're father wouldn't allow it." he told her. "Since the day I met her always so determined and she passed that determination to us."

"Come to think of it, you never actually told me nii-san, how did you meet Irina-san?" Sasuke asked.

"Well it was when we were only three..."

* * *

**Flashback: **

A young Itachi Uchiha stood out side of the compound with his mother and father waiting on their guests.

His Kaa-san had made him wait with them for some girl who his parents hoped he would become friends with. It had happened with other noble families in Konoha before but they were all spoiled brats. He groaned at the thought of having to spend the day with a girl who was always to shy to actually talk to him.

"There they are" His father had announced.

Walking toward them was three people, just three. No carriages, no special escorts or bodyguards. That was a first.

"Fugaku, It's good to see you again" A tall spiky-haired blonde man had said to his father.

"It has been a while hasn't it?" The woman next to him said. She had the longest hair Itachi had ever seen it almost reached her knees and it was a bright red color.

"Shina-chan aren't you going to introduce us to that little angel?" The young Uchiha then noticed a little girl standing next to the red-haired lady.

She had bright orange hair and big blue eyes, she wasnt wearing a mask back then so her face was seen. It was almost like looking at the porcelain dolls he saw in a shop once. But she didn't look as fragile.

He didn't realize he was staring. "You got a problem kid?" The little girl asked her. And he was taken back. Any of the girls he would meet would just blush and look away.

"What's wrong? Cat got you're tongue?" She asked again

Out of habit he answered her with a "Hn" He saw her raise and eyebrow.

"Well why don't you two get acquainted while, we adults have some tea" The little girl's mother suggested and the rest of them agreed, leaving the children alone.

They just stared at each other for a second. "Well what do you do for fun around here?" At that moment he chose to run.

He thought he ran fast enough to get rid of her while he raced through the compound to the training area.

He stood in front of the human shaped targets, aiming for the wooden shinobi's chest. He launched the shuriken and it impaled itself in the wood about three inches away from the target' heart.

"Not bad" he jumped in surprise and turned to see the orange haired girl behind him twirling a kunai.

"But all you do is think you aim it, when actually you're just throwing it." She took the lane next to him and stared down at the wooden target.

"If you just line up you're weapon with the target, you're not gonna get it right, cause your sight is sorta split or whatever, there has to be an angle to how you throw it."

She winded her arm back "Take a breath and...now!" She released the kunai and it went spiraling towards the mock human's chest and pierced straight into the red dot indicating the heart.

She turned back to him. "Try it" She ordered and he did.

To his satisfaction it was a bull's-eye.

"Nice, uh, You never really told me what your name is"

"Itachi" He answered.

"So you can talk!" She exclaimed happily "Well weasel-kun my name is Irina Namikaze, it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand and he gingerly shook it.

"So as I was saying you did good Itachi"

"Thank you"

"But if you wanna be a shinobi ya gotta do more than just throwing kunai and shuriken. Here, my dad already taught me some basic stuff."

* * *

**Flashback end**

"So she taught you first nii-san?" Sasuke seemed shocked that someone else had to help his aniki to do something right.

"And now, thirteen years later she's still taking you to school" Kakashi chuckled. The younger ones laughed with him remembering the spar we had where she completely dominated Itachi

"Yes, but I did learn how to ask others for help but, let's not forget who was _humiliated _when he first met Irina" he said and his old friend groaned.

"Kami, how could I forget? She had me in one move."

"Why? What happened?" Naruto was impatient for more.

"Well believe or not you're nii-san here was a little bastard back when we were younger and our fathers had us meet for a little training, he and Irina were chosen to spar against each other. Kakashi said he didn't want to"

"Why?" Sakura asked.

* * *

**Flashback: **

"What do you mean you don't want to?" Sakumo asked the four-year old boy

"Exactly that" He answered "I don't want to have to hurt a little girl" he turned away from the ring.

"Oh so you're a coward?!" The orange haired little girl at the other side called.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "You scared to lose to a girl?" She asked

He faced her and told his father he was ready.

"Hajime!" He stepped back.

The adults kept with her but Kakashi had been surprised when she disappeared and he felt her breath in his neck.

"Boo" He was suddenly kicked in the back of the head and went down.

He laid face down on the floor when Irina climbed on his back and grabbed his arm in a hold.

"This little girl just kicked your butt."

He struggled against her hold on him but she was strong for her age.

"You would be better off remembering that in a fight you shouldn't underestimate you're enemy. No matter what gender they are how or how big they are they could still take you down." she got off of him and he brushed himself off.

"We're in a war and they could care less about a little girl on the battle field, why should you?" She turned away and walked towards young Itachi and who congratulated her.

* * *

**Flashback End: **

"She definitely kicked my ass." Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly "In hindsight I should not have underestimated her."

"Well at least she taught you a lesson. Even if you did hate each other for it" Itachi added.

"If you hated each other, how the hell are you two such good friends now?" The blonde jinchuriki inquired.

"Ah that was about the time I started wearing a mask...

* * *

**Flashback: **

Kakashi was staring.

She was sitting on the forest floor of training ground seven, with a frown on her face.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked

"Why the heck would you care?" She scowled at him.

"I just do"

She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him "Alright, you remember old Ms. Kaname?

He nodded.

"Well I helped her with her groceries today and afterwards she pinched my cheeks and said I was too "precious and delicate" to be a killer."

"Is that really what people think shinobi do?" young Kakashi asked.

"That is what we do, but that's not the point. Why the hell would my looks be related to being a shinobi, just because I look like a sweet little girl who can't protect herself doesn't mean I am one. I'm not made of glass" She said the word sweet with venom.

They sat in silence for a while until Kakashi finally spoke up.

"I have the same problem." Irina looked at him suspiciously, like he was lying.

"My father's comrades would call me adorable and angel-faced and said I should be a shinobi unless I wanted to damage it." He scoffed "As if I care about that."

He didn't stop there. "I already train hard enough, what do I have to do to start looking like a shinobi to them? Wear a mask?"

There was silence while they sulked.

...

...

...

...

"Why don't we?" Irina suddenly said

"Huh?"

"Why don't we wear masks. Traditional ninjas always did it why can't we?"

"That's actually a great idea."

"Promise me though, you will not be allowed to show anyone else you face except family friends and me." She held out her pinkie towards him.

He grabbed it with his own and they smiled at each other, finally getting along.

* * *

**Flashback End: **

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

They both had neglected to tell him that story.

"That's how you ended wearing a mask all the time?" he asked and Kakashi just nodded.

Something seemed to bother Sakura. "Ok so if you wear the mask because people always thought you didn't look right for a shinobi and looked like a cute little boy why don't you take it off now, I mean its impossible for your face to not have changed?" The older Uchiha had to wonder that too.

"Some things are best left alone Sakura" Kakashi didn't bother saying anything else about the matter.

"That's not what we wanted to say here." Itachi said getting back to the point. "Irina doesn't do anything without reason. If she trains you the way we were trained then that's good, you'll get actual experience, do not question her, ever."

The three genin nodded and they left the Uchiha compound looking for Irina, they're thoughts full of questions.

"They've got a lot to learn" He said after they left.

"Yeah, but I trust Rina-chan to teach them right."

"Hn. Hey Kakashi why do you still wear the mask?"

**AN: Cut.**

**So that's done sorry for this filler chap.**


	10. There's this Girl

**Okay we're finally getting back to plot. NOT**

**Disclaimer:I do not own Bleach or Naruto, that right ****goes to Tite Kubo and Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Chapter 9: There's This Girl...**

**Irina**

"There's this girl...

For the past week those three words are how her conversations with her guy friends have started.

First it was Asuma.

I found him sitting on a bench looking up at the clouds. Not much different from his lazy-ass student.

"What's bothering you Suma" She had asked him and he looked at her and sighed.

"It's nothing...I just *sigh* there's this girl" he started and she didn't need him to elaborate.

"Kurenai?" He nodded.

She set the, up on a date without either of the, knowing and they enjoyed each other's company and they really hit it off.

* * *

After that it was Hayate

"Ohayou Irina" He just found her on training ground twenty two, practicing kenjutsu.

"Just who I was looking for, care for a spar?" She asked him but he didin't seem to notice

"Ryō for your thought" She had said after a while of silence.

"Oh I apologize, I was just thinking about someone."

"Who?"

"Well.. there's this girl"

"Yugao?" Hayate nodded.

"How did you know?"

Irina shrugged "Lucky guess"

She got him to buy Yugao flowers and ask her out.

* * *

And then it was Genma.

"Hey Irina can talk to you" he had caught her in the jōnin lounge drinking coffee.

She didn't even lift the mug from her lips. "Let me guess: There's this girl, and that girl is Anko"

Genma scratched the back of his head, embarrassed "Yeah"

She sighed.

The two of the got together and they were now in a steady relationship.

* * *

_"What am I the freaking Konoha match maker?" _She asked herself. This was getting ridiculous. She was pairing up so many couples and yet she had never been in a relationship herself. She didn't mind being single, it just bothered her that people always come to her for love advice.

And now she was glad to have a break from that. Watching her three students train. She had given Naruto their mother's katana and it fit him like a glove. Sasuke was working on channeling his lightning chakra through his ninjato with Kakashi. And Sakura was buidling her physical strength. Irina had told her to have at a boulder she had lifted to the training ground and keep doing it till she made a dent. She had been clawing and punching at it for hours and was nearly through with the rock. It was almost crushed to dust.

"They're learning fast" she mumbled to herself. She smiled this was relaxing no one had asked her about relationship stuff yet. But she was slightly paranoid.

Which caused her to react to Kakashi's approach a bit irritably.

"Hey Rina-chan I was wondering-

"WAIT! Dont tell me! There's this girl! A girl that you want to ask out but you're too much of a chicken shit to do it so you ask me for advice just like every other person!" she stood there heavily breathing and nostrils flaring. Not that you could see it through the mask.

Kakashi sweatdropped "Uh...I just wanted to ask you if you're okay with me taking Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke on a mission to deliver something outside of Konoha"

Irina mood did a complete one-eighty. "Oh sure! Be back right away I want to teach Naruto something new!" She eye smiled pleasantly and Kakashi sweatdropped again.

* * *

**Kakashi**

"I can't believe that was it!" Naruto was complaining. Again.

"You had us all excited for a mission outside of the village and all we did was deliver a stupid package. That might as well have been a D-rank!" Sakura slammed her fist on the top on the blonde's head.

"Baka! We're just genin. You can't expect the Hokage to give us a dangerous mission"

Kakashi nodded appreciatively "Thank you Sakura"

"Why are you siding with her nii-san? Sasuke you agree with me right?" The avenger just made the signature Uchiha "Hn" and looked away.

Kakashi sighed and just decided to look away for a while. He suddenly noticed the ANBU bringing in a woman wearing performers clothes. He could have recognized that face anywhere.

"Hanare" he mumbled.

"Do you know her Kakashi-nii? Naruto asked

"No I don't" He answered dismissively.

They watched the girl being pulled by the Konoha elite. The woman sent a glance their way and the wind blew up her hair enough for them to see her face.

She's so beautiful" Sakura observed.

"Why was she arrested?" Sasuke asked at that moment the woman turned to look at them or rather at him.

Izumo and Kotetsu decided to answer the young Uchiha's question.

"They say she's a kunoichi who disguised herself as a street performer to gather info about **_Hi no kuni_**. "

Naruto turned to them. "What are they going to do to her?"

"Whatever they have to." Kakashi answered walking away from them, looking for a place to think.

Meanwhile with the woman in question. They had tried torture handled by Ibiki Morino himself. But after a while he knew she wouldn't succumb to the pain and start talking. The Hokage had ordered Hanare to be taken to Inoichi. Her mind was to be searched for any information regarding _**Konohagakure no Sato**_.

But even that proved to have little results. She didn't gather any important information before the ANBU had captured her. Added to that, they didn't find anything in her mind about her village. All they found out was that she was from** Jōmae no sato.(Lock Village ) **and her one memory of a shinobi from Konoha.

"Me?" Kakashi didn't believe that she remembered. "She remembers me as a kid? That's impossible I've never met her"

He looked to Inoichi who stared back suspiciously "Did you find anything else?" He asked the older man.

"Nothing of importance, but she's hiding something I know it. That's what I want you to find out Kakashi.

"What!? But I'm not part of this division." He complained.

"Yes, but she knows you somehow and you have the it maybe you can see further into her mind than I can." Inoichi's tone made it clear it was a command not a request.

He didn't answer and just stared at the woman through the one-way glass that separated them.

* * *

"Are you some kind of idiot?" Hanare asked as they walked down the streets of Konoha. "You're showing me around the village I was sent to infiltrate"

"It"s not like you'll find anything different from other villages here" Kakashi answered walking a few steps ahead of her. "Beside I thought you might want to get out of that stuffy interrogation room for a while." He didn't stop walking.

They kept walking and soaking in the sights, unaware of the three genin following them.

"It's that lady from the gate, the one that was being arrested." Naruto snickered.

"What's Kakashi doing with her?" Sasuke asked without noticing his teammates had already ran after the pair.

Hanare had to admit the village felt like a real home. There were shop keepers just opening up and selling to kids, families on their way to the park or the theater. And couples, flirting, blushing and being silly in public while other people smiled at them and she was one of those people. She then stopped and noticed that her guide was staring at her. She blushed.

The three genin hiding in an alleyway looked on with different expression. Sakura had a face of a fangirl, Sasuke was stoic as usual and Naruto was smiling like, well like Naruto beneath his mask.

After a while of spying the three of them saw the pair stop under a tree and hid in the bushes behind them. They watched the two of them converse and then panicked when Natuto and Sasuke's names were said, thinking they had been caught.

But all Kakashi did was compare them to clouds. Hanare gazed up at the blue skies.

"Whenever things got difficult I just looked up at the clouds and imagined life in my village. And my parents. I lived my whole life away from the place I'm to protect and serve and they kept me away so there would be no information to get if ever I was captured." Wind blew up her hair around her,

Kakashi looked at her curiously "Why tell me? You said anything till now"

"Because..." She looked shyly at him "I knew from the moment I saw you at that gate, you were that same boy."

She retold him the story of how she wanted to see her village and got lost. When Kakashi found her sad and alone he told her to look up at the clouds and imagine the thing you wish for and they will change for you. She said that he had given her hope.

"I always looked for you in the clouds, that's why I never forgot. You have changed a bit but you were always in my heart. You were my hope." She blushed not meeting his eyes and he wouldn't look at her either.

From atop the tree that the two of them were standing under. Kakashi's students listened and leaned forward until Naruto had put to much weight on the branches and they snapped. They fell and crashed to the ground.

A voice suddenly called his attention. "Kashi! There you are I've been looking for you all over. Good thing I sensed you- Woah..."

Irina was trying to understand the scene in front of her. Somewhere in the mess of thing Kakashi had fallen on top of Hanare and their faces were inches apart. She couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across her masked lips.

"Well congratulations Kashi-kun. You finally got a girlfriend!" She laughed.

Kakashi had his sharingan eye staring into the Jōmae kunoichi's. Only then did he register his best friends voice.

"Irina?" He realized the place he was in and immediately pushed himself off Hanare.

He turned to see his three students standing there with guilty looks on their faces.

"Oi! What the hell were you three doing?!" He pointed an accusing finger in their direction and behind him he could hear a certain shinigami/shinobi laughing her ass off.

Naruto tried to think of an excuse and suddenly grabbed a bouquet of flowers out of Sakura's hands. "Uh! Congratualtions!" He said with a fake grin

"Huh?" Kakashi sweatdropped. But Hanare had smiled and thanked them which in turn made the three genin blush and look away and made Irina laugh even harder.

"Wow scarecrow she's a real beauty." They turned to the orange haired girl and saw her still trying to suppress her laughter.

"I'm Irina" she held out her hand to the foreign girl. "And this idiot here is lucky to have such a pretty girl like you interested in him." She winked at Hanare and in return she blushed.

Kakashi couldn't stop the blush rushing to his cheeks either and wouldn't look at Irina eye to eyes. (no pun intended) but instead looked at the clouds above, just drifting by.

* * *

Days later they stood at a bridge. Shinobi from Jōmae holding one of Konoha's jōnin in bonds.

Irina looked at Kakashi worriedly. Her childhood comrade had been strongly opposed to giving Hanare back to Jōmae in exchange for one of their best. She had to wonder why.

Kakashi volunteered to take their prisoner to the center of the bridge. The moment the Konoha jōnin was next to Kakashi he drew a kunai saying he wouldn't let Hanare go and the bridge was suddenly lit up with paper bombs. The explosion was enough to destroy the bridge and send it falling down towards the water beneath it.

The leader of Jōmae had told Hanare to run with what information she had. Everyone including had taken on a respective opponent while Kakashi had ran after Hanare with Irina a little ways behind.

The Jōmae kunoichi had ran to the edge of a cliff until she turned to face Kakashi.

"How did you know?" She asked him.

He stared back with no emotion. "That day.. My sharingan picked up on you weaving a sign with your eye, without meaning to, I copied your technique. And I saw inside my own mind." Her eyes widened.

"Your right eye. It sees the inside of your own mind. So should anyone try to infiltrate it you would be able to see inside their thoughts. You let yourself get captured and saw inside the mind of the one who infiltrated yours. Everything Inoichi knew you saw it."

"We were planning to recapture you after the exchange" he explained.

Hanare smiled sadly at the ground. "There's no need for that. The information I stole, I purged it, it's all gone"

He looked at her disbelieving.

"Look for yourself with that eye." She said walking towards him. "It's what I want, I know you'll believe me."

She told him how at home she felt in Konoha and how she felt when Irina and the others welcomed her so warmly. "I'll be charged with treason and be executed for getting rid of such important information." She took a deep breath. "If that is the I want to die by your hands. Please"

Kakashi refused

When Irina and the rest of team 7 had finally caught up with him Hanare was gone and team seven's other sensei was just staring down at the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei! Where is she?" Sakura asked noticing the Jōmae kunoichi's absence.

"I guess she felt cornered and she jumped of the cliff" he said there was something in his voice that Irina had caught but the three genin missed it.

"But Nii-san are you okay with this? What if she-"

"Enough! It's pointless" he began to walk in the opposite direction the cliff but not before looking up at the sky.

Irina walked next to him while the genin were a few paces back, just out earshot.

"Kashi, you cared about her and she felt the same. Why did you just let her go?" She asked in a soft voice not wanting the others to hear.

Kakashi contemplated whether to answer or not. After a while he sighed. "Because in the village...there's this girl..."

**AN: Dear God! That was cheesy!**

**Anyway thanks for reading. Go ahead and give this a little review. I'm always open to suggestions just no hate and flames. **


	11. Smile and Wave

**AN: Time for some serious stuff. Warning this is going to get sadistic. Not.**

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing!**

**Chapter 10: Smile and Wave**

**Naruto**

"This is Pincess Bubblegum **(I love adventure time) **I'm in position."

"This is Broody Emo, I'm in position. Also Irina-sensei I hate you"

"Good I feed on your hate" was the reply

"This is Mr. Whiskers, I'm in position and I'm not a cat!"

"SSSHHHHHH!, Baka do you want him to get away?" You can guess who that is.

"This is scarecrow I'm in position, Captain do you read? Captain?! Over!"

"Come here you furry little fucker...Over!" Was heard over the intercom.

"Rina' don't!" Kakashi ordered

Naruto and the other jumped out of their hiding spots just in time to see Tora running like a bat out of hell towards the village. Irina was hot on his tail holding a butcher knife. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Where the hell did she- Nevermind! We've got to stop her" for a while the genin only stared at him as if waiting.

...

...

...

...

...

"...Over"

And then they started running.

He heard crashing and the screams of Konoha citizens.

"Come back here and get butchered you little bitch!" They heard.

"Irina nee-san!" Naruto tried but the com went dead.

When they finally found her she was looming over Tora while said cat had its paws pressed together and was mewing something unintelligible.

"Oh no! Begging is not gonna get you anywhere." Irina laughed sadistically.

"Rina'" she heard Kakashi's voice but she didn't turn around.

"Kashi out of everything I forgot, I didn't forget this little hellion nearly getting us killed."

"Rina-chan you're not going to let your team fail a mission just because he got us buried alive, beside Itachi and Minato-sensei eventually found us and dug out." Kakashi reasoned.

Irina glared daggers at the cat one more time before turning to him"Just one leg?" She pleaded.

"Irina" he had said her actual name that meant he was serious.

"Ugh fine" she dropped the knife with a clang and grabbed Tora by the scruff of her neck.

"Here" she threw the cat to her younger brother who screamed and got scratched and mauled by the little demon.

"AAAAAAAHHH! GET IT OFF!" He screamed

"Let's just get that reward." Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

* * *

"Oh Tora I've missed you so much!" Naruto couldn't wipe the smile of his face as he watched the cat get squished by its owner.

"Serves him right" he muttered.

"Team 7 your next mission is babysitting Mr. Yajinu's son, grocery shopping for Mrs. Asano or-"

"Hell no! Enough of this stupid kiddie stuff give us a real mission Ji-chan!" Naruto shouted still nursing the cuts from the stupid cat.

Irina smirked at Kakashi "I knew it was only a matter of time before he snapped and did something like this" she said.

"Ji-chan we're shinobi now, it's pointless having us do these chores" He complained.

Sakura was thinking of how much of an idiot he was while Sasuke had to admit that there was truth to the blonde's words.

"Idiot" Kakashi punched the top of the boy's head and he fell to the floor clutching his skull.

Irina stepped forward "Jiji I think what my ignorant little brother was trying to say was that this is complete and utter bullshit. These missions are nothing more than chores and you know we can do better." She challenged and saw the rest of the people in the room had jaw dropping expressions. She was probably the only who spoke to the Hokage like that.

After a minute of pregnant silence the Hokage chuckled "Fine we have just the right thing for you. A C-rank, you are to escort Tazuna the bridge builder back to _**Nami no Kuni." **_

The Sandaime turned to the door. "Tazuna-san you may come in!" He called out.

The door behind them slid open and a clearly tipsy man holding a bottle of liquor stepped in. "What!? I ask you for shinobi and you give me three kids, a one-eyed teenager and a princess pretending to be a shinobi" Tazuna took another swig.

Naruto swore that he heard something crack and saw Irina fist balled up tight and realised that sound was her fingers.

His older sister eye-smiled at their client. "Tazuna-san" her tone was sickly sweet. "I'm supposed to escort and protect you but if you do or say something stupid you might need protection from me." She tilted her head a bit and for a second it seemed like the bridge builder was snapped into sobriety.

"R-right" he stuttered. And everyone in the room shuddered at the look in Irina's eyes before she relaxed her expression and everything turned back to normal

* * *

**Irina**

They were at the gates of Konoha early in the morning waiting for Kakashi and were surprised when he was walking towards them holding a book.

"You- your on time!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Of course I am, I wouldn't be late for something important like this." He shrugged.

"Wow I can't believe this! I've never been on a mission so far outside of the village before, dattebayo!" Naruto said excitedly.

Tazuna turned to Kakashi "Can that Mini-me of your actually do this mission?" Irina laughed at the accurate description. For the past at least two wear Naruto had been dressing like Kakashi. It started with the mask and then ended with everything else he even had his own version of the flak jacket his aniki was wearing. The only difference was that you could see both of his eyes and Naruto had a sword strapped to his side.

"Of course he can. And even if he couldn't you have me and Rina-chan here, two jōnin." He assured the man.

"Alright everybody let's head out!" Irina lead the way. She and Kakashi had point while Sakira was in the middle with Tazuna and Naruto and Sasuke brought up the tail.

While they were walking and everyone was heading up their own conversations Irina decided to have a "talk"

She started whistling and Kakashi understood immediately "You feel them don't you?"

He whistling a different tune in sync with her. "They've been tracking us since the gate"

"They don't seem like much trouble, but they could have something to say" With that the conversation ended.

They had reached a bridge and after crossing they came into a clearing in the forest. At the side of the path they were to take was a small puddle.

To her this was just pitiful. A puddle in the middle of the dry season, when it hasn't rained for three days, did they take her for a fool. Apparently her little brother noticed to but wasn't as subtle.

"Hey you in the fake puddle just come out already!" He pointed to the small formation of water.

"Naruto you idiot!" Irina scolded, before anyone could ask two figures rose from the water. One of them was perched on the arm of the other. They threw a bladed chain around the Irina and Kakashi and tied them together. They yanked hard, slicing them to bits and pieces.

Sasuke stood their, eyes wide in fear but managed to control his expression. Naruto and Sakura screamed the names of her sensei and the latter nearly retched at the sight of the bloody remains of her teachers.

"Two down" the ex-Kiri nin laughed.

All of them were in shock. Naruto barely had to time to even breath before he heard the voice of the two assassins behind him. "Three..."

Just as one of the blades of the chain was to enter the jinchuriki's arm,a voice rang out.

"I don't think so"

A kunai surrounded by an aura of wind chakra whizzed past them and pinned their chain to a trunk of a nearby tree. They tugged at it but it wouldn't budge. "What the hell?!"

They tried again and discovered they were bo longer tethered. They whirled around to see their chain bunched up in the hands of one of their "victims".

Irina scowled "What are the Demon Brother of the Mist, doing in my territory?" She snarled before giving the chain a twist and a pull, breaking the chain into pieces.

"None of your damned business Namikaze!" They knew her and they still attacked. Idiots.

She sighed. "They always wanna do this the hard way" she said to know one in particular. She then called out. "Kakashi"

Said jōnin suddenly appeared behind them and everything for them went black...

"That was extremely stupid, you think me and your nii-san didn't notice them? You could've gotten yourself killed, your just damn lucky they wanted to go after who was leading first!" She scolded her little brother.

He didn't answer, nor would he look at her. She was ready slap him but her fellow sensei's voice stopped her.

"Tazuna-san the Demon brothers wouldn't go after you for no reason, what didn't you tell us." he asked calmly but there was undertone in his voice that made it sound like a demand.

Tazuna stared at Kakashi and gulped. "Alright you got me. They were after me and Gatō sent them." He said that name with disgust.

"Gatō the business tycoon?" Irina's attention was averted to Tazuna, leaving her little brother safe from her wrath.

"He's a monster! Wave used to be a rich land until Gatō came and took over everything. I'm hoping to build this bridge to connect Wave to mainland, that way we might get some trade and business in, but Gatō doesn't want that. That's why he's after me. I knew he wouls send someone but I didn't know it would be other shinobi" Tazuna hung his head.

Kakashi though about the two assassins "Gozu and Meizu, the Demon Brothers, If I'm correct we just might be up against the man that they abandoned their village with." None of them understood except Irina.

She nodded in his direction. "If you're right that would make this a B-rank or even an A-rank mission. She scowled at her own thoughts. But heard Tazuna audibly gulp.

"Please!" He begged them "We didn't have the money for a B-rank mission, let alone an A-rank, I didn't mean to deceive you, I just wanted to help the people of my country, If you're not gonna do it for me do it for them" he pleaded with them desperation clear in his voice.

"There just maybe hope for this world" Irina mumbled loud enough for only Kakashi to hear.

Said one-eyed jōnin sighed. "It's not my decision, I 'll have to discuss it with the others."

"Discuss what?! They turned their attention to Naruto. "There's people who need our help, and I'm not going back, no matter how dangerous it gets **dattebayo!"** He put a fist in the air.

Irina and Kakashi watched the influence on his other two teammates. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"If dobe, over here, can do it so can I" classic Uchiha smirk on his face. Sakura despite her fear just shook it out and agreed.

"It's decided then" Irina laughed.

"Thank you! Thank you! I promise when I have the money I'll pay the right price for this mission." Tazuna made a good guy pose.

"Alright, alright let's get moving" Kakashi took the lead again and they started walking towards **_Nami no kuni_** once again.

* * *

**Kakashi**

They had finally set foot on Wave.

They wanted to give a quick thank you to the man who operating the boat, but he had already started leaving the moment the last person got off.

The mist was thick and they could barely see anything. Irina and Kakashi picked up on a familiar scent.

_"Blood." _He thought._ "And Water" _he had to wonder who it could be. Distracted he barely missed Naruto throwing a kunai at a.._white rabbit? _He strained his senses and heard the quiet sound of breathing somewhere nearby. Then the sound of something heavy slicing through the air.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" He ordered and the genin hit the ground fast enough to avoid the blade that would have decapitated them. Kakashi had tackled their client to the ground.

The only who didn't duck was Irina who had placed her right arm in front of her and blocked the blade with the chain wound around her arm. She pushed it aside and it buried itself in the side of a tree.

A man wearing what Konoha referred to as "cow-camo" and white bandages around half his face was suddenly perched on the hilt of the massive broadsword.

"The Demon of the Bloody Mist and B-class nuke nin-" Irina said

"Zabuza Momochi" Kakashi finished. "One of the Seven Ninja swordsmen of the Mist"

"I wondered what happen to Gozu and his brother. And look what I found the _**Konoha no senshi ōjo **_and _**Sharingan no Kakashi** _and even a genin team. Looks like the old drunk got more protections that I was told he could afford." Zabuza sized them up, completely ignoring Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. He planted his feet on the ground and pulled his sword out of the tree. He turned to them a sadistic grin visible beneath the white bandages covering his mouth.

"This is gonna be fun!" He laughed. Then the air got heavier somehow. The genin were sweating and panicking, Irina saw Sakura reaching for the button that activated her claws.

"Don't! It's just killer intent" she heard her sensei shouted at her. Kakashi heard Irina take in a breath.

_**"Fūton: Sora no Ibuki"** _she mumbled a strong gust of wind blasted from her mouth towards the nuke nin.

Zabuza's eyes widened and he jumped out of the way and the tree behind him, practically exploded from the pressure. He sprng-boarded off one of his limbs and barely had time to block before Kakashi was on him. A Kunai against his Kubrikibōchō. He was pushing with enough force to rival the giant broad sword.

Zabuza jumped back again and made quick handseals. _**"Kirigakure no jutsu"**_ Kakashi instictively stood closer to his partner.

He turned his head towards the genin. "Be ready he could be anywhere. And protect Tazuna!"

"Eight points: the-!" He didn't have time to finish when Irina had a sword against his.

"Would you shut up and fight already!" She commanded him. The nuke nin smirked and charged at her.

Kakashi seemed to just watch the fight until he heard a slight grunt behind him and whirled around fast enough to block...Zabuza?

* * *

**Sakura**

If she felt useless before. She sure as hell was feeling that now.

Her sensei were fighting against a trained killer and they were standing there hearing the sounds of the battle. She knew they wouldn't be strong enough to fight alongside her teachers but she had promised herself in the instant that Irina had told her not to panic that she would be strong.

"Sakura, Sasuke clones!" Naruto warned them and unsheathed the sword at his side. Sasuke did the same and she activated her claws. They compressed and stepped closer towards Tazuna.

There were four of them all in the likeness of the Demon of the Mist. They surrounded the three genin and the old man. Time seemed to stop, they just stood there and stared at the genin through the mist. Until one tried to grad her.

More out of fear than anything she slashed the clone's torso and he bled water. The clone turned into a puddle at their feet.

"They're water clones!" She told the other two and that seemed to jar them.

One of the clones jumped out of the mist and went for a horizontal strike of his zanbatō towards Naruto who ducked under it and swung his sword against the clones leg. The clone turned to water.

Two left. Sakura thought she breathing heavily. The killer intent Zabuza was leaking and the adrenaline had her on edge.

Another clone jumped out from the mist.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called the Uchiha nodded and understood.

They ran at the clone in a zigzag pattern but in opposite directions. The clone didn't know where to look. Before it knew what had happened the two genin had ran past him, swords drawn. The clone just turned to look at them before he turned back into a puddle from the x shaped cut in its chest.

They were to busy smiling over the succesful attack to notice the last clone behind them ready to cut their heads off. They only had time to turn their heads to see three blades pass clean through the water clone's throat and slash down, it turned into more water that pooled their feet.

They looked wide-eyed at their female teammate who had saved their life and was smirking at them.

"You can thank me later. Right now we have to move and stay close to Tazuna-san" she commanded with new-found confidence.

**AN: Done**

**This was longer than the other chapters believe it or not. **

**Translations: if i made a mistake then, sorry.**

**Nami no Kuni: Land of Waves.**

**Konoha no senshi no ōjo: Warrior princess of the leaf. (It's a rough translation, ****She was given that name in her genin and chunin days but thats another story.)**

**"Sora no Ibuki: Breath of the Sky"**

**"Kirigakure no jutsu: Hidden Mist technique.**

**Fun fact: The name Tora, translates to tiger in Japanese**


	12. In Debt

**Chapter 11: In Debt**

**Irina**

It was two on one and Zabuza was holding his own.

Granted, she was holding back and Kakashi hadn't even used his sharingan yet, but still that was impressive. He met her sword full on with his and still blocked Kakashi's taijutsu attacks.

Like right then, they were pushing against each others blades and neither side was giving an inch. Zabuza smirked and jerked his sword to the side, making sparks fly. He used this as a distraction to jump onto the water behind him.

"Kakashi!" He didn't need a complete command to know. He pulled up the left side of his headband revealing his sharingan. And followed the rapid succession of handseals that Zabuza was performing.

**_"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique) _**they shouted at the same time. The water in between the two rose and formed into two dragons made of water. The creatures let out a roar and charged at each other.

The casters of the techniques barely noticed that Irina had somehow disappeared as they tried to concentrate on the fight.

She sprung out from the water beneath Zabuza's feet and his concentration broke. His water dragon collapsed. She slashed at his chest and her brought up his own sword to block.

But mid-swing the blade she was turned back into a chain and started wrapping around him. She pulled at it and he bended over. She pulled again and this time he came flying towards her.

But Irina released him and jumped back to avoid three senbon aimed for her chest.

Seeing an opening, the Demon of the Mist charged at her handseals at the ready "**Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique)**.

The water rose up from tha lake and started surging together meters above her head. She just watched it before it all came crashing down on her.

Zabuza smiled thinking he had gotten her, while the water kept falling, but then it started swirling like a vortex. The water level seemed to fall and was being sucked into one spot. He watched wide-eyed as the water was gathering in an orange-haired kunoichi's palm.**  
**

All the water compressed into a sphere in her hand. She pointed the orb towards him and Kakashi suddenly appeared behind her.

_**"Mizu kyūtai: Mizu no funshutsu" (Water Sphere: Water spout) **_the liquid came to life in her hand and started swirling and growing. She eye-smiled at Zabuza before launching the funnel of water at him.

It speeded towards him and he didn't have the time nor the room to dodge so it hit him full force and slammed him into a tree. He slid down the tree half-conscious.

Kakashi was suddenly in front of him holding a kunai to his neck. Steel senbon flew towards a spot on his neck but ended up in Irina's hands. She examined them and saw the tips were coated with a green liquid.

She was about to address the sniper out loud before an all-too familiar wail sounded in the distance. She tensed up, eyes wide .

Everybody in the area, including Zabuza felt the pressure, it was like gravity: weighing them down and it was making it hard to breathe. It was worse for others. Sasuke and Sakura were on the ground trying to lift their heads and look up. Tazuna was also down but he was unconscious. Naruto was kneeling and trying to get up but to no avail and Zabuza was the same as the young jinchuriki.

It was only Irina and Kakashi who were still standing and in control of their breathing, even though Kakashi was struggling

"Kakashi..." She warned and he nodded and disappeared, taking a place next to his students to make sure they were ok.

"You out there, if you can you better get Zabuza out of here, he won't be able to get away." she called out. "Not on his own at least"

There was no response or even the slightest hint of movement. She figured that the hidden one couldn't move as well.

She could feel them getting closer, and the mark on her neck was starting to get warm. She slowly reached for _**Zangetsu**_ on her back. The moment she wrapped her hand around the handle of the sword one of the creatures jumped out. But not at her.

Zabuza barely had time to register what was after him. A bone white masks, and soulless, empty, glowing yellow eyes and humanoid body. That was it. As the creture leaped at him he willed his legs to move but to no avail. He would've thought Haku and Arashi would get him out of this but they probably couldn't move either.

The creature let out another wail as it came flying towards him and he closed his eys and waited for death.

The sound of flesh and meat tearing made him open his eyes and look down. His body was fine except for the blood staining his bare chest, which wasn't his. He looked up and saw Namikaze with the monster's teeth bone deep into her left shoulder.

She grit her teeth and used the massive sword in her right hand to cut off a hand that had grabbed her leg. The creature howled, a sound that made his blood curdle.

Irina turned her head to face him. Both eyes alert and open despite the set of teeth in her shoulder.

"If you wanna live, get the hell out of here! Go!" She ordered and somehow that snapped him out of his trance. And it did the same with his allies, Haku and another had swooped down from the trees and grabbed Zabuza before disappearing once again.

They ran the opposite direction of the battle, the Demon of the Bloody Mist had to wonder why the girl had saved him.

Moments later the same kunoichi's voice rang clear through miles of forest. **_"Getsuga Tenshō!" _**There was a beam of what seemed like light to him before it dissipated into the air.

The feeling of being pushed down and the fear were both gone.

"Damn, stupid girl" He mumbled

* * *

**Kakashi**

It was fear.

Coupled with the feeling of leaving you weak and hopeless. It pushed you down as if forcing you to bow down to its power. He honestly didn't know how Irina did it.

She walked towards them as if nothing had happened as if there was no chunk missing from her shoulder, or she hadn't just battled some sort of demon."Rina?" he asked cautiously, staring at her bloody shoulder

She actually laughed at him. "This is nothing, you know what will kill me don'tcha?" She eye-smiled at him before moving to wake up Tazuna, ignoring the horrified stares of her genin team and the concerned stare of her little brother.

The bridge builder groaned. "Ugh what happened? Holy shit!" his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw Irina.

She ignored it. "How far is your house from here Tazuna-san?" She asked politely and was still smiling, okay something was definitely wrong here.

"Uh, not far. Just a few miles in that direction." He pointed east.

"Good, let's go" she started walking and the others didn't follow they just stared, after a few steps she spoke.

"Kashi"

He snapped out of his trance, "Yeah?"

She didn't even turn to him. "I'm going to pass out now" and then she tipped to the right.

Before she hit the ground Kakashi had caught her. He picked her up bridal style and turned back to his team and the client.

"Tazuna-san lead the way and hurry" the old man nodded and started speed-walking.

"Kakashi sensei! Is she gonna be okay?!" Sakura ran up to him.

He looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms. "She will be" he promised.

* * *

**Haku**

"Zabuza-sama you have to rest" Haku and the boy laid him down.

She was answered by a string of curses that would've made Irina's comrade, Ivan feel uncomfortable.

"Fuck, how the fucking hell was I taken down by two fucking teenagers!? And now I owe the carrot-headed one" he growled he kept going for about fifteen minutes before finally tiring himself out. "Kami-fucking dammit!" okay maybe not.

"He's really pissed off" Haku mumbled.

"Oh what gave it away, Haku-chan? Was it the cursing or the growling?" her companion asked sarcastically. She punched the back of his head hard causing the hood over it to drop to his shoulders.

His brown eyes glared at her and he rubbed the back of his head over his unruly and swoopy brown hair that framed the left side of his face. He wore brown cargo pants, a black shirt with brown straps over it like Zabuza except on his back were two wakizashi. His forearms up to his wrists were covered with mesh and on his hands were black gloves. Standard blue shinobi sandals were on his feet. And on the back of his shirt was a symbol that showed a white outline of a half human female and half sea creature like a mermaid but near it's mouth were rings that got bigger and bigger as they got farther from the creature.

"Bitch, what the hell was that for?!" Arashi asked her. She punched him again.

"That, was for calling me a bitch. The first one, I just wanted to." Haku grinned behind her mask while her comrade glared at her more.

"What the fuck is this, I hire shinobi mercenaries and what I see is two kid fucking around, where's your leader?" Gato stood in the doorway flanked by two body guards.

"Zabuza-sama is not well, please come back some other day." Haku said with no expression.

"Weren't there five of you?" He asked glaring.

"Yes, but Gozu and Meizu tried to do something of their own will and got themselves killed." Arashi explained.

"Tch, and here I thought you could get the job done! What the fuck happened?"

Haku stepped forward "I'm sorry Zabuza-sama is the only one who can answer that"

"Then let me talk to him!" Gato demanded

Haku's emotionless mask turned into one of anger. "Like I said he is not feeling well, come back later" she said forcefully.

Gato growled "Guards!" The two henchman stepped forward and drew their swords.

Before they could blink they had senbon in their neck and went down, unable to move.

Gato took a step back but just bumped into something or rather someone. Arashi held a kunai to his neck and dug it in a little deeper.

"Get the fuck out" he snarled in the little man's ear.

He turned Gato around and pushed him out the door. He scrambled to regain his balance and started running out of the building.

"I won't forget this you little brats!" He screamed. Being called children was one thing, brats was an insult to two shinobi, young or not.

They each grabbed one of Gato's unconscious bodyguards and threw them out the window, one landing in a tree and the other landing right in front of the business tycoon.

Arashi snapped his fingers. "Fuck! I missed the midget."

* * *

**Kakashi**

"Tsunami, Inari, I'm home!" Tazuna called out.

They stepped into the house to be greeted by a blue haired woman, they assumed was Tsunami.

"Tou-san! Your safe"

He laughed loudly and nodded. "Gatō thought he could get me but I had these five ninja to protect me" he pointed to Team 7 forgetting its injured member.

"Oh my!" Tsunami covered her mouth with her hand.

Kakashi stepped forward. "I don't mean to be rude but do you have a guest room where I can take care of her." He gestured to Irina, knocked out.

She nodded. "Upstairs, last door on the left." Kakashi gave her a nod of thank you before literally dashing up the stairs.

He could hear that her breathing was shallow, so he pulled down her face mask and tried to concentrate on her wounds rather than her face. It seems unfair to him so he pulled down his own mask.

He took off her haori and the kimono top leaving her in the white bandages that wrapped around her well endowed chest. He saw her bloody shoulder and cringed. He had never seen her hurt before, hell he hadn't seen her bleed since they were still chunin, that was nine years ago. The exceptions were when she called up her summons.

"Just like you how you healed me." he mumbled and copied her movements from before. He channelled the white chakra to his hands and held it over her left shoulder. He knew standard medical jutsu but this wasn't healing a physical injury, he knew the wound would heal immediately, what would take time was the damage to her soul.

After the external wound was better, he bandaged her shoulder and still continued to heal her, despite how much the process was wearing him out. After a while he was done.

"You're gonna be fine Rina-chan" he said to her. He reached out to stroke her cheek but the door behind him slid open but he didn't move not caring about his unmasked face.

"Excuse me, sorry If I interrupted anything but I brought up some food since everyone is eating downstairs." Kakashi turned around and smiled at her.

"It's no problem, arigatou Tsunami-san" seeing his face, he blushed at how handsome he was. The moonlight coming in from the window made the silver hair that fell in front of his eyes look like it was shining, and she took notice of the scar running over his left eye. It just gave him a more rugged look.

"Something wrong, Tsunami-san?" he asked. He saw she was staring and took notice of the light pink gracing her cheeks.

"No nothing" she said nervously, she tried turning her attention to Irina but stared even more at the girl's uncovered face.

"She's beautiful" she said without realizing she said it out loud.

"Yeah she is" Kakashi nodded.

Tsunami shuffled nervously "Umm if you don't mind me asking. The children downstairs, they're your students?"

"Yes"

"And her's as well?"

He nodded.

"It's just you two look so..." She trailed off.

"Fragile?" Kakashi sighed.

"No young, I couldn't make the mistake of thinking any shinobi is weak or fragile, it's just seems like you two are just teenagers." Kakashi smiled and almost thanked her for not saying they looked like they were delicate

"That's right I'm sixteen" she seemed shocked.

"And her?" she pointed to the unconscious orange-haired girl on a futon.

"Same" he answered.

"To be so young and hold such ranks. You two must be skilled, your students are only four years younger than you."

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "We graduated and got promoted at a younger age than most, we were thrown into a war right off the bat and after something like that you don't walk away alive without picking up a few things." He said

"O- of course, sorry for bothering you again, good night" she left the room.

As soon as the door was shut he heard Irina speak.

"Do I look fragile to you Kashi?" She asked with humor in her voice.

He turned to her relieved she was awake. He handed her the food Tsunami brought up and then he then eyed her shoulder and the blood on her upper body "Right now? You do" they laughed together before slipping into a comfortable silence, eating their food.

"That was really stupid Rina-chan" he told her after a while. She wasn't angry.

"But you know why I did it." he nodded. "Every soul"

This time she nodded.

She tried to sit up and winced when her shoulder acted up.

"Don't. Just lay down" he commanded her and she didn't argue.

"Aye aye captain" she mock saluted and relaxed herself on the fūton. "Come here." She gestured for him to come closer.

She kissed his cheek. "Thanks Kashi-kun" she then turned and lay down on her good shoulder and went to sleep.

He stood, pulling up his face mask. He grabbed the tray Tsunami used to carry the dishes and headed downstairs, smiling the entire time.

**AN: Okay I'm done!"**

**So, I just read through my author's notes and saw that I say "so" a lot.**


	13. Look Around

**AN:Hey there guy and or girl.**

**What's up.**

**This is another chapter.**

**Read it.**

**I like tacos.**

**Chapter 12: Look Around**

**Naruto**

He didn't care if Irina was still angry at him.**  
**

She had gotten hurt, that's what mattered. He was stupid for doing something without thinking, he could've gotten himself killed. He just wanted to prove himself so much, to the sister that he had heard stories of on the battle field, to his adoptive older brother who trained him, and to his teammates.

He didn't want to let them down.

So the moment Kakashi stepped out of the room he shared with Irina, the blonde jinchuriki jumped him.

"Train me!" Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds and then blinked.

"Nani?"

"Train me nii-san! I don't want to be weak, and next time I want to be strong enough to protect Irina nee-san and even if I'm not, at least I'll be able to fight by your side instead of having to see your backs all the time, please." He pleaded.

Kakashi slumped lazily "Naruto it's too early-"

"I just want to say it, to promise me" the jōnin's eye stared into his little brother's and saw determination and what Asuma had always described as the Will of Fire.

"Alright" Kakashi agreed walking past him and down the stairs.

"But nii-san- Wait! Did you just say okay?! Yatta!" Naruto followed him. He ran behind his surrogate brother excitedly but Kakashi held up a hand, stopping him.

"But there's a condition, training just you would be unfair. Sasuke and Sakura have to join us, besides I want to see what your nee-san's been teaching you when it comes to weapons."

"Okay!" Naruto raced down the stairs, a full blown smile beneath his mask.

Sasuke and Sakura were seated around the dining table with Tazuna and Tsunami.

"Guys, Kakashi nii-san says were gonna be training this afternoon." Naruto beamed, but then said one-eyes jōnin slammed his fist on top of the blonde's head.

"I said I would, I didn't say when. But I guess this afternoon is as good a time as any" Kakashi cupped his chin and lay elbow on top of his outoto's head.

"Get off!" he shook his head left and right, surprisingly, the silver-haired teen went crashing down to the hardwood floors.

Laughter was heard from the stairs and they all turned their heads to see Irina leaning on the wall. "Really, Kashi' getting outsmarted by a genin?"

"Ha, Ha very funny" he scowled. "Should you be up?"

She pulled at her haori and kimono showing them her shoulder.

"Not even a scar, I'll be fine" she walked towards them and sat down. "Right now we better get down to business. So I overheard something about training this afternoon and I think it's a good idea"

"But why sensei?" Sakura asked.

"So we wont be weak, when we fight Zabuza again duh!" Naruto rolled his eyes at her and she punched him in the gut.

"Who said anything about you fighting Zabuza? He's a Low-ANBU level nuke nin, I wouldn't let you within ten feet of him, training or none. As for why you're training, You didn't see it but Zabuza had two companions with him, one uses senbon, with amazing accuracy I might add."

Without realizing it Naruto and Sasuke had mumbled the same thing. "He's mine"

"As for the other one I don't know. But you three are gonna have to face them when me and Kakashi take on Zabuza again" she ran the numbers in her head. "By the injuries I gave him he'll probably be on his feet in five days."

"Will that be enough time?" Sasuke asked in a monotone.

"It's going to have to be" Kakashi answered

"For now I think we should go through a little chore list. For today, Sakura and I will go with Tsunami to town to pick up some groceries. You boys will be guarding Tazuna while he and the builders work on the bridge. Everybody clear on what they're doing today?" they all nodded.

"Good, let's go"

* * *

"I'm sorry Tazuna but I'm not putting my family in danger"

Tazuna shook his head "It's okay Katsuto, I understand" The worker walked away in shame.

The bridge builder sighed. That was the second worker this week that had quit. All too afraid of Gato to take the risk. There was about only twelve of them left on the project.

"Hey Jiji, you got anything for us to do?" Naruto asked finally sick of playing shogi with Sasuke.

"Unless you know where I can get more workers than no" Tazuna picked up another blueprint.

"More workers? Hell yeah!" he made the handseal to his signature jutsu._** "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**_

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze at your service" each and every one of the fifty Naruto's mock saluted Tazuna.

The old man couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face, unexperienced with bridge building or not, fifty more men was certainly handy.

"Alright! I need five of you to get those support pillars to the men working underneath. You three get those tool to the men on the other side..." Tazuna kept barking orders to which the Kage bunshin replied with "Yes sir"s or "Right Away"s and some "Alright"s

Sasuke and Kakashi took a leaf out of the hyperactive blonde's book and started helping out as well.

"At this rate we'll have this bridge ready in a week!"

Little did they know of the dark figure watching from the trees. The wind blew through the leaves and they seemed to surround the spy until he disappeared.

* * *

**Irina**

Irina's blue eyes widened at the scene before her.

Sakura gasped "This is horrible"

There was a heavy air around the place, the wooden structures drooped, sagged and were rotten in a lot of places. People were on the streets starving and begging anyone who came by.

Even the grocery store that the two kunoichi and Tsunami had went to barely had anything.

"What happened here Tsunami-san?" Sakura asked.

The woman looked away from them and looked back with sad eyes. "Wave used to be a rich place, but then Gato showed up. He took control of any boat getting in or out of here and took everything. then he placed his henchman on the streets to abuse and scare the people...even Kaiza..." She trailed of tears lining her eyes.

"No get away from me! Somebody help me!" Irina's head snapped up and turned in the direction of the voice.

She ran through the street ignoring Sakura's pleas for her to wait. She came upon two men taking advantage of a fairly healthy, unconscious girl. One of the men held her arms behind her and had his other hand over he mouth, snuffing out her air.

The girl's naked body was displayed in the open, her clothes taken off tossed to the side.

"Looks like another little whore wants to play" the other man said. He walked up to Irina and grinned. Her suddenly red eyes watched him carefully.

"Bet you're a looker behind that mask." Instead of reaching for her face his right hand reached for her chest. She grabbed his arm and he tried to yank it back but her grip was too strong.

"Bitch! Let go!" he pulled at it and with his free hand attempted to punch but Irina had caught his arm and crossed it over his right.

She twisted his arms together, breaking the bones with her grip in the process. He screamed in pain but his cries fell on deaf ears as his partner just watched in fear.

She grabbed his right hand and grabbed a kunai from her pouch she twirled it in her hand before slicing clean through the man's wrist

"You bitch!" He screamed clutching his bleeding stump.

She gave him a hard stare. "Tetsuya"

He stopped moving.

"You're not groping any other girl with that hand or this one!" She grabbed his left hand and cut off his fingers one by one.

She left him crying on the ground, bleeding out just like how he left countless people the same way. She took a step towards the other man still holding the girl, the man had taken a chance during his partners punishment and groped the poor girl. She twirled her blood-covered kunai.

"Get your dirty hands off her!" She threw her bloody weapon at him and it him hit square in the shoulder. The projectile was thrown with enough force to knock him back and bury itself in the wall behind him. He struggled pulling it out screaming in the process.

Irina had caught the girl before she fell. She grabbed the poor girl's clothes and put them on her again. She leaned her against a wall in the alley.

Her red eyes watched the other man carefully. He pleaded with her "Please I'm sorry! I didn't want to he made me do it!" She threw a kunai at his good shoulder so he couldn't move. He was pinned to the wall but he still squirmed.

Irina's red eyes looked at him coldly. "Murder, rape, kidnapping, slavery and stealing from these people, my, my, you have been busy haven't you Katsuo?" He froze and stopped struggling.

"H-h-how do you kn-now my name?" He stuttered.

"I know everything about you..." She turned her back to him and picked up the girl. "And I know your not worth the effort to make you scream" she walked away, her eyes turning blue again.

She walked out of the alley and found Tsunami and Sakura again.

"Sensei your okay! Who is that?" She pointed to the girl.

She stared at the girl and adjusted her position. "Some one who needed help" was all she said.

The girl had woken up, while they searched for someone who knew her. She panicked at first but then realized where she was and asked what had happened. Mai, as she introduced herself, cried when Irina told her she was still pure and clean. She lead the three women to her home, where her family and her boyfriend were waiting. Mai's relatives thanked her profusely and offered her food, not taking no for an answer.

In the end Tsunami got the groceries she needed and they walked back home. Little did they know of the dark figure watching them. Irina was too angry to notice her.

* * *

**Kakashi**

Irina was at Tazuna's house.

As long as they had those her, the place would be fine. For now the genin wanted to train.

Naruto talked fast paced and started asking rapid fire questions. "What're you gonna teach us? Ooh I know, nii-san can you teach me how to do that **_"Genso-kyū no Jutsu" (Elemental Sphere Technique)_** that Irina nee-san does? Or maybe the _**Raikiri** _or maybe you could teach me dad's_ **Rasen-**_

"Stop!" Kakashi commanded and he stopped talking.

"Sit" Naruto sat down on the ground with the other two genin.

"Stay" he held up a hand and Naruto stopped bouncing in his seat.

He patted the blonde's head "Good boy!"

"Today we're teaching you to climb trees." He walked past them and put his hand on a tall tree.

"Climbing trees? But that's so lame! We already know how to do that!" Naruto complained.

"Oh? Do you know how to climb them like this?" He put a foot on the trunk of the tree and started walking up the side of it.

"Sugoi!" Naruto and the others watched in awe.

Kakashi jumped back down. "You have to focus a certain amount of your chakra to the bottom of your feet. Try it"

The each picked a tree and started climbing. Naruto put one foot on the trunk and he was pushed away, breaking the outer bark of the tree in the process. Sasuke had the same results while Sakura climbed a few feet of the ground before loosing her hold and falling back down.

"Like I said: a certain amount" He pointed to the spot where Sasuke broke the bark of his tree. "Too much chakra and you'll end up pushing yourself away from the tree and breaking it. Too little and you'll slip and fall right off. It has to be a constant stream, not getting stronger or weaker." He climbed up the side of a tree again and on the underside of a branch.

They all tried it but only Sakura got it right, but she only managed to stay on for fifteen minutes.

"Good job. But your chakra reserves are too small. We're gonna have to work on increasing it" she nodded and took a break trying to catch her breath.

After a while Sasuke got it right as well but he stayed on longer.

"Nice work. Just you left, Naruto"

"Ugh! I know I can do this but I always put too much into it." He gave an exasperated sigh. "goddamned fox." He muttered.

"Okay Naruto, you know you have too much chakra because of your _tenant_, but I think the best thing for you to do is put as little into it as you can."

He nodded and tried it and managed to stay on the tree until he reached the top. He held it for twenty seconds before crashing back down to earth.

Kakashi leaned over him "I thought I said keep it steady?" He said lazily.

"Fuck you" He replied face down in the dirt.

Kakashi stomped on his head. "Language" he berated.

"Now let's move on to something a little more advanced." He led them to a part of the forest with a small pond.

"Water walking" he stepped out on to the water and to the genin's surprise he stayed on it and didn't sink.

"This is just like tree walking except the chakra you emit has to be adjusted and changed constantly because the water isn't stationery like trees are." He gestured for them to come closer and they stood at the edge of the pond.

Kakashi took Sakura hands and had her put one foot on. "Come on you first, careful now"

She took another nervous step and to her delight she stayed above the water. She took a few more steps until she ran out of chakra and sank right through.

When she resurfaced she swam to shore. "Good job but like I said you don't have enough chakra to maintain it for long."

"Your turn Sasuke" he gestured for him to take his hands but Sasuke stared at it apprehensively.

"It's a training exercise. I'm not hitting on you" he grabbed the Uchiha's hand and pulled him towards the water. Sasuke stayed on for a few seconds but suddenly fell into the pond.

"I said a constant stream and keep adjusting it. Your going to have to concentrate. Holding hands with me doesn't give you the excuse to lose focus." He berated pulling Sasuke up.

On shore Naruto snickered. "It can only mean one thing if he's so bothered by it"

"Shut up Dobe!" Sasuke shouted at him.

"Sorry did you say something?" Sasuke ran over to him. He grabbed Naruto's collar and pulled him on the water. He was about to punch him when they heard Kakashi clap in the background.

"Nice work you two" they looked down and realized they were on the water without sinking they started taking a few steps.

They were getting the hang of it until Kakashi said:"Look like all I needed to get you two to concentrate was each other"

"NANI?!" They fell feet first. And resurfaced to breath and shout at their sensei.

"There is no way in hell I'd ever for gay for him!" they said and pointed at each other in unison. They jumped back from each other and got on the surface again.

"Aww they're even saying the same things. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship" Sakura giggled from the shore.

"Shut up Haruno, you're probably wishing it was you" he accused and Sakura raced onto the water just to punch him in the gut. Konoha's jinchuriki doubled over in pain.

"What was that Naruto?"

While they continued to bicker Kakashi just smiled proudly, they were all on the surface and maintaining it. They worked well with each other in some ways. And they motivated one another. He couldn't help but compare them to Itachi, Irina and him during they're genin days. Irina would egg them on and do better than them, forcing them to push themselves. She was the only one who could get any kind of reaction out of the two boys.

Kakashi was ripped away from his thoughts at the sound of rustling leaves. His head whirled around to see nothing. He ignored it for the time being, concentrating on his students.

* * *

**Haku**

Haku ran back to their hideout. She had wonder what it would be like if her team was in a village. No more running, no more having to work for people like Gato and having something so close a family.

She stopped and sat down in a clearing. They would't look for her, at least not yet.

She watched the clouds drift by and dreamed about life away from what she had now. Then she thought about those Konoha shinobi. Their sensei, the silver-haired one _**Sharingan no Kakashi**_. From the stories she heard about him and the thing she read, Haku expected him to be a bloodthirsty warrior. What she wasn't expecting was the lazy, sarcastic personality he had.

Then there was his students.

The pink haired one Sakura. She seemed like she had something to prove.

The broody one Sasuke. He was quiet and reserved Haku also thought he was kind of cute.

Then there was the masked blonde one. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. After his sister's return every country had finally heard of Konoha's junchuriki, the son of the late Yondaime Hokage. His identity hidden since birth. His sister was what proved his bloodline and made every country salivate at the possibility of having such a weapon.

Then there was Irina Namikaze herself. Just like with Kakashi she wasn't what Haku expected.

She expected a demon, a sadistic, merciless fighter, capable of taking down entire armies and countries on her own like the bingo books said. But she was just a sixteen year-old girl, who was extremely powerful and full of compassion.

When Haku watched her save that girl from getting raped. Her thought on the shinigami/shinobi had changed. When she saw how skilled Naruto was with the _Kage Bunshin no Justu _she began to reconsider their strength. And when she saw 4/5th pf team 7 train she smiled at their carelessness._  
_

"Ryou for your thoughts?" Haku quickly stood up and whirled around to see the object of her thoughts.

Irina smiled at her.

"Relax I just wanna talk"

**AN: Done!**


	14. Negotiations

**AN: I read a book the other day.**

**It was good **

**Chapter 13: Negotiations**

**Irina**

She was very good at reading people.

Part of the reason she was CIA back in the normal world, but that's another story. She approached Haku carefully. Knowing, just by looking at the younger girl, that she didn't want to hurt her. Taking slow steps and stopping when she saw the younger kunoichi tense up.

She held up her hands near her head to show she wasn't holding anything and stepped closer.

"Haku" the girl was shocked to hear her name. "That's your name right? Nice name for a girl" she complemented.

"I'm a boy" Haku said but Irina just rolled her eyes. "Sure you are"

"What do you want?" The ice user said aggressively

"Like I said, I just want to talk" Irina sat down on the grass.

"Then talk" Irina sighed.

"Fine. I want you and Zabuza to join us" okay Haku wasn't expecting that, she was expecting a threat.

"No deal."

"Hear me out. I want you to come back with me. You don't want to be here. Hell, just by looking at you, I know you don't want to do this. You've never spilled another shinobi's blood before"

"How did you know?" Irina pointed to her eyes, which weren't the usual blue. They were still blue but surrounded by glowing rings of red around the irises and pupils.

"I know almost everything about you" She said. "I know that you will only agree if Zabuza and your other teammate Arashi agree. So what I'm asking you is, do want another chance, another life away from this? Back in Konoha you could have a fresh start"

They stood there for who knows how long while Haku thought about it. But she was still suspicious.

"First, how do you about me and how much?" Irina pointed to her eyes again.

"It's an ability of those like me. The shinigami eyes **(I do not own deathnote)**. With these I can see your identity, your experiences, your sins, your good deeds, your life and when you'll die" The temperature seemed to drop as soon as she said the name of the death god.

"That's how I know. Now what do you say about the offer?"

Haku thought a little more. "How will I be sure that they wouldn't take us in and give us back to the Mizukage?"

That made Irina think, how would she make sure.

**_"Put them under your clan's protection"_** Zangetsu said in her head.

"And here I thought you were dead" she answered back in her mind.

**_"Nope, just asleep. Now like I said put them under your clan's protection. Make them your "servants". Since you and Naruto are the only one's left you just need his approval_" **Zangetsu continued

"How do you know this shit?" She asked him.

**_"I read it in this book I found in that library you thought up for us." _**Sure enough when she looked inside her mind he was holding a book titled: _"Clan Traditions and Rules: The basics for running a clan"_

"Uh, okay. Thanks...I guess...Bye" she left her mind, as she left she heard the voice of her hollow.

**"Was that Irina?" **Which only made her leave faster

The conversation with her Zanpakutō took mere seconds in the real world. Haku was waiting for her response.

"I can make you my servants-"

Haku cut her off "We're not going back to be your personal slaves" she snarled.

"Calm down, ice girl. It's just a term. When I say servants, that's what you'll be labeled as but I'm just going to let you go around freely. Do what you want. But the official label states that you're under the protection and authority of my clan, which means the council can't do shit about it." Irina smirked at the thought of their faces when she brought in an A-class nuke nin and his two apprentices.

"You have a place for us?" Haku couldn't believe it.

"Yes, me and my brother are the last of the Namikaze and Uzumaki clan. Unfortunately the Uzumakis didn't have a clan compound in Konoha but the Namikazes did, no one is there and if you come with me and live there you'll be listed as a part of the clan. Hell, You can join the shinobi ranks too. If you want to, that is. I won't force you to do something you don't want to"

Irina turned around and started walking away, when Haku didn't answer.

"Why? Why would you do this for us?" Haku called out.

She didn't even miss a beat. "Because every soul is worth saving Haku-chan"

"Okay" Haku mumbled.

Irina turned around, not sure she heard right. "What?"

"I said okay I agree. And I'll tell them."

"Better yet why don't I just come with you and tell them my self?" Haku looked suspiciously at her again, thinking it was a ploy to lead her to their base of operations.

"Aren't we past that yet?" Irina said seeing the look.

The Hyōton user considered it. And finally...

"Yes"

* * *

"No. Fuck no"

Zabuza swore the moment orange came into his line of sight. He fixed Irina with a glare. He sat up and tried to show that he wasn't that hurt but she wasn't buying it.

"Wow you recovered fast" she complemented noting the bandages around his torso.

"Fuck you" he stood up and wrapped a hand around the hilt of his Kubirikibōchō.

Irina held up her hand to show she was unarmed. "I just want to talk."

"Then talk" Zabuza said.

"Wow, you two must be really close," she looked over at Haku. "She said the exact same thing"

"What the fuck do you want Namikaze?" He snarled, losing patience.

She cleared her throat and got to the point. "I want you, all three of you, to come back with me, to Konoha."

"We'll be arrested the moment we step through the gate" he argued with her

"Not if I claim you three as my servants. And before you start bitching!" She interrupted seeing he was going to open his mouth. "It's just a label. You'll be written down as part of the Namikaze clan if you come back with me, so you can do whatever the fuck you want and no one can say shit about it unless they go through me. Plus you can become Konoha shinobi."

Zabuza stared for a while before blinking. Twice.

...

...

...

Then he exploded in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Me!? And them!? Konoha shinobi?! Ha!" Irina sweatdropped at his reaction while he tried not to fall over and used his sword to support him.

"I think it's a good idea" Arashi finally said after being quiet the whole time.

Zabuza stopped laughing. "Kid, you got a screw loose or something?"

Arashi shrugged. "Think about it. If we go back with her, we won't have to be on the run anymore. Plus she's from a clan, she must be loaded. That's means if we're having a hard time we can draw from her cause we're under her jurisdiction"

"That's- I-" Zabuza was baffled at that logic. He really thought about it. The benefits and the downsides, he couldn't find one concerning the latter.

"Fine"

Irina's eyes widened, she didn't think it would be that easy! "Seriously?!" She asked disbelieving.

"I said it didn't I brat? Ah! I mean Irina-sama" he clenched his teeth after calling her that.

In response she shook her head. "Don't call me "sama" it makes me sound like those stuffy bastards, with sticks up their asses like the people on the civillian council." She shuddered.

"Alright then carrot-top" she sweatdropped again. _"He sure got over that fast"_

There was still something they didn't take in to consideration. "What about Gato?" Arashi said.

"Yeah. What about the midget?" Zabuza asked Irina.

She thought about it. "I've got an idea but you're coming with me" she said mysteriously, making them all gulp.

* * *

**Naruto**

"Nii-san, are you finally going to teach us some new techniques tomorrow?" the masked genin asked. They were all sat around the table in Tazuna's house having dinner. The three genin had nailed water and tree walking within hours. Though there was room for improvement it was impressive for them to get it down so fast.

"Can't you wait until after dinner Naruto?" Kakashi replied exasperated.

Naruto pouted "Aww, fine. But tomorrow you're gonna teach us new stuff during training."

"Why are you so eager dobe?" Sasuke asked quietly from his side of the table.

He raised an eyebrow "Isn't it obvious? So we can get stronger and get rid of that bastard Gato"

"Yeah! If he shows his face while Tazuna-san is working on the bridge we'll kick his ass!" Sakura proclaimed bravely. "It's time this place was free of him"

He didn't say it but the Kakashi agreed if the smiles on his faces were anythin to go by. He admired their spirit.

As much as the commotion amused him, Kakashi, he was about to speak up and tell them to calm down but the little boy sulking in the corner beat him to it.

"Why do you try so hard?" he asked.

"What?" Naruto asked his attention fully focused on the little boy. He had forgotten Inari was even there, because he had been silent so far.

"You're just gonna fail like everyone else" he shouted at them with tears in his eyes. "No one can get to him not you, not your sister and brother and not even him!" He cried.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Naruto demanded.

"You're gonna die just like him and lose everyone you love but you wouldn't know about that Would you?! He accused. "You grew up in a village! You had a family, you three have everything and have probably never even experienced pain or losing someone you love!"

And just like that something snapped inside of him. Everything came crashing down on him like a ton of bricks. He saw every memory of his past flash before his eyes.

"Naruto..." Kakashi said cautiously.

None of them even saw him move. But he was suddenly in fron of Inari and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey! Put me down!" He protested, still crying.

"Shut the hell up!" Inari stopped struggling and looked down into red eyes.

Naruto was trying to control his anger. He knew what would happen if he lost control, even then he could feel something stirring inside of him.

"I don't know what it's like?! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE?! I saw my parents die right in front of me when I was three, I lost my sister and thought she had died for eight years! Almost every day of my life, when I went out on the streets people would look at me like I was a monster like I was something that needed to be thrown out. And hell, one day they decided to try doing it. They rallied and chased me while nii-san was away. I was beaten within and inch of my life, but I still vowed to protect the people who hurt me to show them they were wrong!" He snarled and Kakashi was about to knock him out seeing the aura of red surrounding him.

He dropped Inari on the wooden floor and he landed flat on his back. The red chakra died down and he turned around his eyes hidden behind his bangs.

"I'll give you this, you've probably been hurt before but you should remember that there's always someone who has it worse than you" he walked out the door, slamming it and making everyone flinch.

Inari started crying again and ran upstairs and into his room.

"Stupid kid." Naruto grumbled while walking through the forest.

He sighed and lied down flat on the grass. Maybe he had been to hard on the kid, but Inari has pushed him too far. He decided the only way to get his mind off it was to train.

He stood up and made the handseal to his signature justu.

**_"Kage Bunshin!"_ **he produced five clones and they all drew they're swords.

"Five on one, no holding back and no ninjustu!" He commanded them

The clones nodded. "Right!"

They all stared down at each other until a wind blew through the trees and leaves started falling them moment one touched the ground...

"NOW!" The original charged at his clones and they scattered. He reaches out to grab the ankle of one who jumped up and slammed him into the ground. The clone dispersed.

He turned to face the rest of the clones but was met with a sucker punch to the face. He was pushed back against a tree from the force equal to his own. The clone slashed at him but he ducked and it hit the bark of the tree instead. The clone swung again but Naruto blocked. They fought against each other but the original suddenly jerked his blade to the side causing sparks to fly and making the clone close his eyes and leap back.

Naruto saw the opening and lunged forward stabbing the clone through the head. That clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Now where did the rest of you go?" He asked out loud.

The answer to his question came in the form of a kick to the back of his head that sent him flying. He landed face first on the grass and got up immediately. He looked around for his sword but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

Three clones came running at him and he stood his ground. One swung at his neck, he ducked under the blade only to jump up again to avoid another blade slashing at his feet. Another clone dived between the two blades and kicked him square in the chest.

He stepped flinched at the pain below his neck. "Damn, you guys are getting good!" He exclaimed and the rest of his clones smirked.

"We're only as good as you are boss, there's just more of us" One of the clones answered.

"Right" Naruto remembered. He charged at them again. The copies stood at the ready and when he was within range one of them swung at his chest. He suddenly hit the ground and slid baseball player style and passed between the clones legs.

"What!?" The clone didn't have time to react when the original, mid-slide, had grabbed his ankles and made him fall flat on his stomach. He was then grabbed by his feet again, spun around and thrown across the clearing and into a large rock formation.

The two remaining clones ran towards him, and they flanked him. They both swung their swords at him and Naruto brought his arms up to block.

The clones' eyes widened but they couldn't stop their swords from cutting through their master's arms.

CLANG!

"Shit! We forgot about the weights!" One of the clones exclaimed. Instead of cutting into Naruto's arms like they thought they would they just struck the weights that wrapped around his forearms under his sleeves.

The original smiled at them and suddenly grabbed both of their swords. He pulled them out of their hands easily, because they were still in shock.

He grabbed the handles of the swords and did a spinning motion slashing clean through both of his clones' waists. They dispersed and so did their swords.

He panted and started searching for his own blade. When he found it he sheathed and made more clones.

This time ten of them came into existence.

"Again!" He shouted making the first move. "Just swords this time!"

* * *

He had fallen unconscious from exhaustion. After the taijutsu and kenjutsu training session he had he produced more clones and trained in ninjutsu.

He was half asleep when he heard the voices.

"Damn, kid really did a number on this place." A vaguely familiar voice said but he ignored it thinking it was a dream

"Pretty good for a genin, maybe Hatake isn't too lazy to train them after all " He heard a feminine voice say. Okay that was not a dream. He instantly jolted awake.

He stood up and took one look at the three people in front of him.

Haku, Zabuza and Arashi looked at him cautiously.

"Relax we're just here to-"

But he didn't listen, instead he drew his sword _**"Kaze no hōchō (**__**Wind Cleaver)!" **_He swung his katana in a vertical slash. Their eyes widened at the crescent shaped blade of wind coming their way at an alarming speed.

"Shit!" They shouted jumping out of the way, only barely escaping the attack. They all landed on the grass and watched the attack go through a few miles of the forest and cut through every tree in it's path until it dissipated.

"Holy shit" Arashi muttered seeing such an amazing technique.

Clang!

His head snapped up to see Naruto and Zabua with their swords crossed. Naruto knew he was no match for Zabuza in kenjutsu, but he thought he could by enough time for him to come up with a plan.

He was about to take another swing until he heard clapping behind him. He turned around to see his older sister her eyes crinkled in a smile.

"Well I'll be damned, you really did get that technique down." She whistled appreciatively at the damage he did to the trees.

"Not bad for one week." She complemented. Naruto ran to hug her and she hugged him back.

"I'm proud of you Naru-chan" she whispered to him and it made him smile under his mask.

Some one cleared their throat rather loudly and they parted. "Really Zabuza? We were having a moment." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Gomenasai, Namikaze-sama, Zabuza has no respect." Arashi bowed and Zabuza slammed his fist in top of his head making him sink to the ground.

"Kiss-ass" he muttered.

"Namikaze-sama? What the hell are they talking about?" Naruto asked.

"Well Naruto, you know how Ji-chan explained to us those clan rules and shit?" He nodded.

"Well since we're the last Namikaze's and I'm the eldest, I have the right to put these three under my orders and make them my servants, but not really they're just called that so no one will bother them" she gave him a knowing look. "So technically they are our allies and clan members we just need your approval"

He stared at them suspiciously. "You trust them?" He asked her.

"Yes"

They stared at each other for a few minutes before Naruto sighed.

"Okay I approve, welcome to the family guys!" Naruto said warmly. He eye-smiled at each of them.

"That it?!" Zabuza exclaimed. "There's no ritual? No paperwork or some sort of tradition thing?!"

No one answered him as Naruto had taken the two kids and his sister and pulled them into a group hug even though Irina was holding them awkwardly she still meant it.

"Fuck it" he said before an arm pulled him into the cluster.

**AN: Done.**

**I swear these chapters keep getting longer.**


	15. Training

**So, this is a little bonding.**

**Disclaimer: You know who this belongs to, i don't own ANYTHING**

**Chapter 14: Training**

**Zabuza**

"What. The. Hell?"

The broody one and the pinky but most of all, Kakashi was shocked to see the Namikaze brother-sister duo walking with their him and the other two "enemies",He didn't even move or reach for a weapon, the sight of his fellow sensei talking to the man they had been trying to kill just a few days ago was enough to convince him everything was fine.

If that made any sense.

He trusted her and knew she wouldn't do something without a good reason.

"Hey gang, meet the newest additions to the Namikaze clan." she eye-smiled at them and tilted her head.

"Hatake, brats." Zabuza nodded in greeting.

"Arigatou Kakashi-senpai, Sasuke-san, Sakura-chan my name is Haku" Haku one said.

"Yo, I'm Arashi" the brown-haired boy lazily raised two fingers in greeting.

"What. The. Hell?" Kakashi repeated. "Namikaze clan?"

Naruto stretched his arms over his head. "Yeah they're kind of our servants now" Naruto said laughing mischievously. This made Zabuza shiver involuntarily

Kakashi blinked a few times. "Naruto whatever you're planning, you are not using them to get out of it" He pointed an accusing finger at the boy and in response he whistled innocently.

The copy nin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Why do I even try?" He asked his new master

The "Warrior Princess" tapped the back of his head "Because we promised we'd keep him out of trouble"

"Ugh, anyway you put them under the Namikaze name, so they don't work for Gato anymore?"

Irina shook her head. "Technically they still do, but that's just a ploy. Naru-chan here came up with an idea to make sure that midget tyrant gets what's coming to him and Zabuza's group still get their money." She smiled and shook her head.

"Dobe actually came up with a plan that won't fail?" Sasuke said sarcastically earning him a glare from Naruto.

"Fuck you teme" he said but like always, there was no malice behind it. Irina produced a piece of paper for him to right on. He told them the plan and afterwards they were all impressed.

"That's brilliant" Kakashi said after a moment of silent appreciation.

"Yeah that's all well and good, but how are we gonna do the hard part without making it obvious we're faking it?" Zabuza asked.

"We go all out" Naruto explained. "No holding back on each other when it comes down to it." The demon of the mist grinned, he liked that plan.

"Well in that case we've got some training to do" Irina cracked her knuckles and pounded her fist into her palm while saying this.

"We'll see you in four days." Zabuza said before turning around and leaving, Haku and Arashi following suit.

When they were out of earshot Arashi chuckled. "I can't believe she bought it"

Haku nodded "Maybe the Senshi no Ōjo isn't as amazing as everyone thinks" She smirked.

Zabuza laughed darkly "When that day comes, she and Hatake are mine, understand."

They continued walking down the dirt path ignoring the dark shadow hanging over them and following them.

**Kakashi**

**Day 2: The day after**

He watched Naruto clap his hands together and gather chakra._** "Fūton: Reppūshō!" ( Wind Releas: Gale Palm).**_ Wind, practically laced with chakra, blew from his palm.

Sakura made the correct handseals. _**"Doton: Iwa no Sentō!" (Earth Release: Rock Spires)**_. She slammed her hands, palms down, on the ground.

Sasuke did the handseal at a fast pace and took in a deep breath._** "Katōn: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Pheonix Sage Fire Technique)**_. A volley of small fireballs was sent flying from random directions towards one target.

Kakashi watched them form their handseals and send their attacks simultaneously towards Irina.

She jumped back to avoid the spikes of earth that rose from the ground. The wind came blasting towards her full force but she just held up her hand and the air gathered in her palm. It formed into a sphere of swirling wind in the palm of her hand, the inside air tight. She used the sphere like mitt, catching the fireballs and swirling the flames around in the sphere until it dispersed from lack of oxygen. When she had caught them all she faced the three genin.

"Good job, all four of you." She meant Kakashi as well

She looked him "Kashi you chose good techniques to teach them."

She turned to Sakura "You need to work on making your handseals faster and increasing your chakra levels" The pinkette nodded, still trying to cath her breath

She whirled around to look at her younger brother. "Outotō that was almost perfect, you just have to control how long the wind lasts." He nodded.

"Sasuke, you didn't do anything wrong but you there's always room for improvement when it comes to learning something new." The Uchiha smirked confidently earning a head-slap from Irina.

"What did I say about letting things go to your head?" Naruto laughed at his best friend and Sasuke tackled him, they started wrestling on the ground until Sakura hit them both on the head making them stop and clutch their skulls in pain.

Irina leaned on the rock Kakashi was sitting on. "They're getting better." they agreed on this pattern. He would how them something new and the on next training session, Irina would work on the techniques with them.

She shrugged "Yeah, well, like I said: there's always room for improvement"

"And they have improved."

It was true over the past few months they had spent as a unit, a lot has changed. Irina and Kakashi didn't mind being called nii-san and nee-san by Naruto anymore, Sasuke was more expressive and open with everyone else and Sakura had stopped fangirling, the feelings were still there but so was the determination to be a better kunoichi.

This was going the a long three days.

**Day 3:**

"Keep going!" Kakashi commanded they had been steady on the water for hours. Sakura was already running out of chakra while Sasuke was getting there and Naruto was having trouble staying on the water because he couldn't adjust his chakra emission fast enough.

Sakura fell forward on one knee and sank a little bit but she stayed afloat.

"Sakura you can stop" She shook her head in response. She forced herself to stand up, nearly falling down a second time.

"I can do this" she proclaimed. Kakashi secretly smiled beneath his mask. Now that's the spirit.

Hours Later:

"Sakura another two new Doton Jutsu for you" he said handing her a scroll. "These are the instructions for the technique" Sakura bowed and took the parchment

"Sasuke this technique is called,_** "Katon: Honō no Hashira (Fire Release: Pillar of Flames)**_, I'll show you the handseals in a second."

He turned to the last genin. "What you're going to learn is something a bit different, draw your sword." He commanded and Naruto did so. He showed him what to do and Naruto got it down quick.

He and his fellow sensei had learned that Sakura learned better by reading, Sasuke by instructions, and Naruto by demonstration and trial. They had their ways of learning and they decided to adapt to it.

**Day 4:**

They stared off.

Kakashi held a hand up horizontally. He looked at both sides and got their nods of conformation.

"Hajime!" The moment his hand dropped Irina started running towards the genin and they started forming hand seals. Kakashi pressed start on his timer.

Sasuke slammed held a hand up towards the clearing Irina was now running across. He closed his eyes and concentrated, after a few moments he opened them rapidly and shouted:**_ "Katōn: Honō no Hashira!"_**

Kakashi watched Irina swerve to the right to avoid the eight feet tall column of flames that erupted from the ground and then she swerved left to avoid another. To her surprise miniature orbs of flame shot out from the fire pillars and flew towards her from different directions.

"A combination. Good! Keep it coming!" Kakashi commented from the sidelines

But the ground beneath her feet started shaking but she stayed steady on her feet. Sakura had her fist on the ground and it was staying there. The boys flanked her and drew their swords. The small fireballs were still shooting towards her but instead of catching it like they thought she would. She had eaten them instead!

Even Kakashi was surprised. "What the hell?" He muttered and smirked. She had eaten the flames through her mask.

When she ate the wisps of flame she had her cheeks puffed out. She leaned towards the three genin on the other side of the clearing. She swiftly pulled down her mask and spat out the fire before they could see her face, all they could see was blue flame flying staright towards them at an alarming speed.

The quake stopped because Sakura lost her concentration and had to pull away from contact from the earth. They saw that their female sensei was close and readied their weapons, Sasuke and Naruto falling into kenjutsu stances while Sakura brought out her claws.

The moment she was within range of the boys the swung at her, Sasuke aiming high and Naruto low. She dived straight between their blades, the two swords nearly cutting off an inch of her untied waist-length orange hair but just nearly. She landed clean on her feet but instead felt the unsteady weight of the earth beneath her feet. She sensed Sakura was directly below her.

Kakashi had taught her the _**Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mole Technique)**_ and she had it down pat.

And it was evidently shown when she sprang out from the ground and slashed at her sensei. Irina didn't even flinch.

Sakura just suddenly felt something on her right hand, but she didn't know how that was possible, her claws were drawn.

Her eye widened when she saw her sensei's fingers had slipped between the blades of her claws without any problem, they didn't even touch the metal.

Irina gripped her fist hard and lifted her up and around by it. They spun until she let go and the younger kunoichi went flying towards Kakashi and she stopped right in front of him and didn't hit the rock.

"Sakura we're gonna have to work on your speed and timing with that jutsu. Oh and don't worry Rina' was aiming when she threw you here" he assured her and she nodded and watched along with him.

The three remaining members of team 7 that were fighting lost themselves and concentrated on nothing else.

**Irina**

Afterwards...

"You all did great. Tomorrow you will really put your skills to the test. No holding back and remember whatever you do protect Tazuna" Kakashi told each of them and they stood from and nodded. Afterwards they collapsed in exhaustion.

The two older teens had to carry them back to Tazuna's house.

"You know if you were sixteen back in the world I was in you wouldn't be doing this" She gestured to Sakura unconscious in her arms.

"Oh? And would you be doing?" He said, Naruto and Sasuke over his shoulders.

Irina shrugged. "What everyone else is doing I guess. Taking selfies, stressing about school, complaining about not having an outfit of the day and constantly being on twitter. Oh! And twerking! Jesus Christ, that's what my generation will be remembered for" she face palmed.

"I did not understand half of that" Kakashi shook his head.

"It's okay, I never did any of that stuff and right now it seems mundane. Teenagers in that world would worry about not going to summer school and we'd worry about not getting killed every day." She said this with a sarcastic laugh.

Kakashi stared at her with a sweatdrop "I really think that world did something to you." He said as he stopped in front of the door to Tazuna's house.

"It gave me a second chance" she didn't elaborate and Kakashi didn't ask.

They called for Tsunami or Tazuna but the one who answered the door was the little kid, that Naruto had a spat with.

He looked at them disdainfully and walked upstairs without a word.

"What's that gaki's problem?" Irina asked him

He sighed and told her what had happened a few nights ago. Afterwards she put Sakura on the couch and climed up the stairs. She knock on the door to his room but he didn't answer so she opened it and saw it was empty, but she saw the brim of his hat outside the window and went there.

"Hey"

Inari jumped and looked at her but didn't say a word.

She climbed on the roof with him. "So I heard about what happened with my outotō." He didn't answer.

"And I heard about what happened to your father" his eyes widened but he remained silent, tears brimming his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she suddenly enveloped him in a hug. He was shocked and thought to push her off but he needed this right now. She held him while he sobbed.

"You know, you remind me so much of Naruto, minus the crying" she told him when they separated.

"What do you mean?" He finally said something making her smile.

"You heard what Naruto told you the other night. When he was four and I was eight, we lost our parents. That night our village was attacked and they were killed right in front of us. Naruto was too young to comprehend what was happening so he passed out but something was chasing me, I had to leave him behind so the people from Konoha would find him." She had a far away look in her eyes as she told him the story.

"Eventually what was tailing me did catch up and I was killed, at least I thought I was." she scrunched her eyebrows in frustration. "When I woke up I didn't remember anything. Nothing about my village, my brother or anyone from before. I lived eight years of my life without knowing I had abandoned him. He doesn't feel that way but I do." she sighed.

"Now I still don't remember anything except that one memory of my parents losing their lives right in front of my eyes. I'm trying to make up eight years of neglect towards my brother. And I protect him from people because, his birthday was the exact day the village was attacked."

Inari looked at her sadly, he thought maybe some people do have it worse than him, but he wouldn't say it out loud. Not yet.

"He told me something else and you told me something too" Inari spoke up. Irina nodded for him to continue.

He took a breath. "He told me that the villagers beat him and tried to kill him But he still became a shinobi for them. And you told me that I was like him minus the tears, what did you mean?"

"Ah, Well they did try, but Kashi saved him just in time. And what I meant is that you two both went through a lot but he never cried or complained about his situation. Even when the villagers threatened and threw things at him in the streets he took it in stride."

She shook her head, almost not believing it if she hadn't seen it herself.

"Instead if wanting revenge on the Konoha citizens, he took the high road and decided to prove them wrong. He vowed to protect them and show them that he was no threat to them and he promised he would become the village's leader" she smiled at the recent memory.

Inari didn't speak anymore.

"Kid, what I'm trying to say it that you should see him as an example, he went through much more than you but instead of giving up and crying about it he fought and is still fighting" she stood up and headed inside.

"I'll see you downstairs for dinner." she told him before leaving his room.

**The next day...**

They departed for the bridge, prepared for a day of hard labor.

But none of them were prepared for the gruesome scene that lay before them. The mist was thick but they still saw them.

Bodies scattered everywhere. Gashes bleeding out and dripping into the water below them, dyeing it red. The eyes of the dead workers stared at them blankly as if waiting for something that never came. They walked through the mist. The smell of blood was strong in the air.

The farther they got the worse the killing blows looked.

One had his head severed and placed on his back with apple in his mouth and eyes wide open. Another was cut in half straight down the middle vertically. His innards and brains spilling out and the other half of his body nowhere to be seen.

And one was strung and by his own gut and intestines, at his feet was a long white object. His spine.

The genin were gagging. But they steeled themselves. Kakashi was staring wide-eyed at it all and Tazuna was retching and pukeing over the side of the bridge.

Irina stared in horror at all of it.

Their heads snapped up at the sound of a voice.

"No please, NO!" There was a squelching sound and the sound of something being ripped out and screams until everything went dead silent.

A shadowy figure was seen walking through the fog. The Demon of the Mist grinned sadistically at them.

"So glad you showed up." He grinned "Namikaze-sama"

**AN: So that's over.**

**Bye.**


	16. Siren's Song

**I had burritos today.**

**I think the tacos were better.**

**I do not own Naruto. **

**Chapter 15: Siren's song**

**Irina**

"What the hell is this?!" She demanded "What happened to the plan?"

"Did you really think we'd agree to that? You're either naïve or really stupid!" He barked out a laugh. Haku appeared next to him and brought out three senbon.

"Where's your other lap dog?" Kakashi growled at him.

"Where he should be" Zabuza answered. "Where's the mini-Hatake?" He asked referring to Naruto.

"Where _he _should be" Irina answered him in the same tone.

"Hehe then I think we should stop screwing around and get this over with. I still need my money and that means I need the old drunk you have over there" he pointed to Tazuna.

"Over my dead body" She grabbed the chain off her arm and changed it into twin katanas. Sasuke drew his sword, Kakashi readied some handseals and Sakura drew her claws out.

"So be it" Zabuza stepped back, the fog surrounding him. The mist around them got thicker and they could barely see anything. They flocked together back to back.

"Remember whatever happens Tazuna gets out of here alive!" They all nodded.

"Here we go." Kakashi muttered under his breath.

The mist swirled and their enemy came running at them from every direction.

_"Water Clones" _She thought "Sasuke, Sakura go!"

They Sakura slashed through half of them and Sasuke cut down the others. They fell back to their previous positions

"Well, well you two aren't bad at all. Haku I thought you've got a challenge waiting for you." The demon of the mist smirked at his companion who just nodded and agreed.

_"Naruto, you better be doing what your supposed to" _Irina thought before she gripped her weapons tighter and went straight for Zabuza.

* * *

**Inari**

"Inari, run! Get away from here!" his mom screamed at him. Two men had broken down the door and barged into their house.

"So you're Tazuna's family. Sorry but you're coming with us." They stepped forward and Inari, who had disobeyed his mother ran up to one of them and kicked him in the shin.

"Leave my mom alone!" He was suddenly picked up by the back of his shirt.

"Damn brat, you're making really hard not to kill you." Waraji, the taller one, said holding a kunai to the boy's neck.

Tsunami panicked. "No please I'll come with you just let him go!" She pleaded.

Zōri and Waraji considered it before the latter Inari across the room. "Tch, kid your lucky your mommy's looking out for you"

The shorter one grabbed him mom and cupped her face in his hand. "We've got quite the looker here. Don't worry we're gonna take good care of you" he gave her a lecherous grin and she nearly started crying, but she had to stay strong for Inari.

"Inari get away from here, just go!" She commanded but he shook his head.

The two men hauled his mother out of the house. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the back of Zōri's leg.

"AH! You little bastard!" He whirled around, drawing his sword on the kid but Inari stood his ground. The samurai swung and Inari didn't have time to react.

"NO!" Tsunami screamed

CLANG!

Inari looked up, wide-eyed and saw Naruto deflecting Zori's blade with his katana's own.

"What the hell!?" The samurai exclaimed putting more force into his little push battle with the blonde shinobi.

Naruto didn't even need to adjust. He turned Round and eye-smiled at Inari. "Sorry I'm late kid, you did a good job protecting your mom. Now rest easy, I've got this." He tilted his head towards the two samurai.

"I don't know who you think you are kid. But you're not taking me down" his "opponent" said.

"Enough talk" Naruto finally pushed back and Zōri was instantly overwhelmed by the genin's strength. He leaped back from the conflict only to have Naruto jump at him again and slash at his shoulder.

He didn't have the time to dodge and took the full attack. He clutched his bloody shoulder and staggered back. Naruto jump kicked him in the chest and he fell in the water dying part of it red.

Waraji stared at the kid who took down his partner effortlessly. He held on to Tsunami tighter and put his sword against her throat.

"You get any closer kid and I'll do it!" he threatened, fear evident in his voice. He didn't know why he was afraid of a stupid brat but said "brat" was leaking some impressive Killer Intent.

He suddenly disappeared and Waraji felt a warm breath on the back of his neck.

"Anyone ever tell you not to harm a lady" Naruto whispered.

"Inari look away!" Tsunami screamed knowing what was to happen.

The boy turned his head just in time to miss the sword that sprouted for between the remaining samurai's eyes. Naruto drew his katana back and flicked it to the side, the blood flying from it. He sheathed it again and pushed Waraji's body into the water to join his partner.

"It's safe to look" Naruto said and Inari turned his head again.

Tsunami instantly tackle-hugged him and started sobbing. "Thank you, thank you" she muttered but Nauto heard.

"It's my duty to protect Tazuna-san and his family, and I swore never to abandon some who needs help." Naruto replied. He walked towards them and put a hand on Inari's shoulder.

"I need you to do something with me" he said looking straight into the younger boys eyes.

Inari stared right back "Whatever you need" he said and Naruto grinned and whispered something in his ear.

"Can you do that?" the genin asked.

"Hai!"Inari said before running off with Naruto.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Tsunami shouted at their running figures.

"To save the country!" Inari shouted back.

* * *

**Irina**

Clang!

She crossed swords with Zabuza before but not like this. This time there was no hollow to interrupt or Kakashi to back her up. It was just the two of them, their blades clashing against each other.

Every swing, slash, stab and strike they made was countered by the other, neither side letting up. But Irina was suddenly caught off guard due to seeing Sakura and Sasuke getting trapped in Haku's ice dome.

Zabuza saw the opening and she just barely brought up her swords to block, Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō trying to come between her crossed blades.

"Interesting company you keep." her eyes darted to the ice dome. "A **_Hyōton_** user, probably from the Yuki clan, who can use one-handed seals and a member of the Koe clan." She said referring to Haku and Arashi.

"Hmph, so you know about Arashi" he tried for a vertical slash to her shoulder but she deflected it with one blade and slashed at his feet with the other, he jumped to avoid it.

"The moment I saw the symbol on his back I knew what he was. Any shinobi would know about a Kirigakure kekkei genkai such as the _**Sairen no Uta (Siren's song)**_." She thought about the things she had heard about the technique. "The ability to hypnotize people with the sound of your voice. They can make you see, hear, smell, feel, taste and do whatever they want you to."

They continued to clash their blades against each other but the conversation had calmed down their strikes.

"The kid has come in handy before." Zabuza admitted making swing for her head.

"I bet." she said ducking under the blade and kicking upwards, but he moved his hand to block and her foot hit the handle of his sword, his hand still wrapped around it.

The sword flew straight out of his hand and off into the mist. Zabuza held his hands up in surrender. Irina had one of her katanas at his throat and the other behind his head. They glared at each other before Irina lowered her weapons.

"Go get it, I will not take down a fellow swordsman while he is unarmed." He stared at her suspiciously, thinking it was a trap. But he shunshined to his sword and picked it up.

"You respect the code" he said. "Too bad I don't!" he charged at her without warning and cut into her shoulder, cleaving her arm off. She stared at it on the ground, wide-eyed, before continuing to fight.

She fought with just one arm and one sword but she was holding her own. That is until a water clone came up behind her swung at her. The massive broadsword buried itself in her side. She stabbed the clone and it turned into a puddle that pooled at her feet. She tried taking another step towards Zabuza but collapsed on the bridge.

"Irina!" Kakashi screamed reaching out for her but he froze when he felt something small and sharp against his neck.

"But how..." His eyes wandered to where Sasuke and Sakura lay unmoving, blood pooling around their bodies, their eyes lifeless and staring off into space.

"Forgive me" Haku said before piercing the vein in his neck. Kakashi went down.

Zabuza walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

The sound echoed through the mist. Zabuza cancelled the justu and the fog dissipated. Gatō stood in the middle of the bridge smiling at the dead bodies of the workers and shinobi. The only one that remained other than his mercenaries was Tazuna. The bridge builder trembled in fear.

"Good job" Gatō praised him.

Zabuza scowled "Our money" he demanded.

Gatō pulled a bag out of his pocket and threw it at him. Zabuza caught it in his hand and examind the contents, he nodded in approval.

"We're done here" Zabuza said and he started walking.

"Wait a minute" Gatō walked towards them standing tall despite his short stature. "The job was to get rid of the builder and I can see him standing right there. Alive." Tazuna started hyperventilating.

"Please! No!" Tazuna begged.

"I said. We're done here." Zabuza growled at him and the little man suddenly went rigid. He felt something against his neck and looked down to see the black blade of a wakizashi.

"Surprise" A voice said from behind him. The moment he said that it was as if the word had gone completely silent, like there was something whispering in his ear the whole time but suddenly stopped.

He blinked a few times and saw the bodies on the bridge started fading away as if they were never there. The blood and remains of humans just disappeared and dried away. The "dead" konoha shinobi pushed themselves up off the ground, their injuries nowhere to be seen. Even the Tazuna that he saw faded into nothing.

"B-but how?! I saw it all! The killing, the battle. The four of you died!" He pointed to 4/5th Team 7. The person behind him pushed the blade to his neck a little more, drawing blood.

"Exactly, that is what you saw. But only _you_ saw it" The voice told him.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Gatō demanded and Irina walked towards him and kneeled down to his height.

"So your the tyrant. Funny, I thought you'd be taller." She remarked. "Well, Gatō do you know who the person holding his sword to your neck is?" She asked and he glared and bared his teeth.

"Fuck you!" She punched him just hard enough to hear that satisfying crunch that could only be his nose.

She continued speaking "He is Arashi Koe, a member of the Koe clan and bearer of the _**Sairen no Uta**_ kekkei genkai. The ability to bend anyone's will, hypnotize them or take over their senses."

As if to prove a point the brown-haired boy started murmuring words too low to understand. Gatō saw trees sprout from the concrete surface of the bridge and grow at an amazing rate. He felt a soft breeze blow through the place like a forest and he smelled morning dew. Then Arashi went quiet and the miniature woods disappeared into thin air.

"Dont, you get it?" Irina asked while the business tycoon had a confused look on his face. "We planned this from the start. The day I took these three into the Namikaze clan Naruto came up with this. We had him draw out the plan and he gave us each a role. He knew that you would be watching the battle so we had Arashi find and follow you. We also knew that if you saw that Zabuza had won you would come out."

He still didn't understand. "But I had them tailed. I had someone follow them and he said the plan was different then these three told me they would betray you."

Zabuza laughed. "Did you really think we wouldn't sense that amateur you sent after us?" He felt slightly insulted. "We had Arashi show him what we wanted him to see, while the Namikaze brat told us the real plan. Beside did you ever think that we could've lied to you?"

"And let's not forget that you planned to have them killed after they got the job done." Irina was disgusted by him, the man couldn't even keep his word.

She was just about ready to punch him again but her brother's voice rang out from across the bridge.

"Irina nee-san!" He called out. "Is this enough?!" He said and gestured to the people behind him.

He and Inari had convinced and gathered every citizen of Wave to stop living in fear and start fighting back. All of them had found their courage and finally found something to fight for. With Naruto and Inari leading them, they stormed Gatō headquarters and took over the place taking care of his guards and personnel. Everyone was now at the bridge weapons at the ready, even Tazuna, only to find their enemy subdued.

"Naruto, you are too much" Kakashi sweatdropped seeing his surrogate little brother with an entire army behind him.

Irina grinned behind her mask and gestured for Arashi to lower his blades. He did so and Gatō took in a breath. He was about run but the masked kunoichi grabbed him by his collar and shunshined over to the people of Wave.

"He's all yours!" She announced throwing him at them. He landed on all fours and was suddenly surrounded by the people who once feared him. They mobbed him and started assaulting him until someone suggested they execute him in the same place he killed Kaiza.

"For Kaiza!" Tazuna shouted and the people echoed his cry.

They hauled him off, kicking and screaming. Inari turned back to look at the konoha shinobi. "Naruto nii-san aren't you coming with us?"

Said blonde eye-smiled at him and shook his head. "You go on ahead, I don't have a place there." He told him and the boy nodded and ran off to follow the crowd.

Naruto turned back to his team and had his hair ruffled by Kakashi.

"That was amazing outoto" he said praising the boy for his tactical brilliance.

"Everything went well. Not a single bump in the road." Sakura said.

Naruto nodded at her and eye-smiled at Arashi considering he was the key point of the entire plan. "Good job Koe."

The brunette mock bowed. "Anytime Namikaze-sama." The boys smirked at each other.

"Well come on let's get back to Tazuna's house. I think it's time we get some well deserved rest. Don't worry we already told him about you guys." They started walking.

"Not so fast." They heard behind them they all turned to see an entire army of about two hundred men. Samurai, shinobi and mercenaries, all armed and looking angry.

"You just took away our meal ticket." One of them said. "We can't just let that go."

Irina sighed.

"Bet now you wish you didn't send that crowd away" Zabuza said, bringing out his Kubikiribōchō.

"Nah, we can take em'" Irina disagreed. She grabbed the chain off her arm and twirled it, it morphed into a massive broadsword like Zabuza's.

"You think you can kill us you bitch?" One of the mercenaries said and Kakashi cringed. He had called her the b-word.

Bad move.

"Let's get this over with we've got a town to raid and maybe afterwards we can have a little fun with the women." They all grinned and laughed perversely.

"Oh shit" Kakashi muttered. He watched Irina carefully and saw her put her chain back on her arm. She instead drew the sword on her back.

"Oh shit!" he repeated out loud, this time. "Zabuza step back!" He commanded and the Demon of the mist didn't argue, seeing the dark aura surrounding Irina.

"What's happening to her?" He asked the jōnin sensei of team 7.

"Just watch and do not blink" he said that to everyone present.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"You'll miss it" Irina answered and all head turned to her. They saw her eyes were glowing red.

Arashi, Haku, Sasuke and Sakura tried to keep their eyes open but they all blinked and when they opened their eyes. Irina was kneeling in front of them her sword sticking out to the side.

The men who had been standing suddenly fell over like dominoes.

The entire army behind her was decimated. Only eleven left out of a two hundred men. Bodies scattered on the ground, bleeding out. The killing blows varied. Cuts and precise incisions to vital points. Slitted throats, cut open chests and severed heads were in the mix. She had killed them depending on how severe the wrongs they had done were. She used _**Zangetsu**_ to send those who deserved a second chance to the Soul Society, and those who had done unforgivable things to hell. She saw it all with the eyes of a shinigami.**_  
_**

The eleven men she had left alive trembled in fear. She turned to look at them and spoke.

"The good you have done outweighs the evil, but if I find any of you doing what they did, I will come back for you" she promised. They all ran thanked her and ran away.

She stood up and walked toward her team not looking back at the devastation she had wrought.

"Let's go" was all she said before walking past them.

They all stared at her, amazed and afraid. Kakashi and Zabuza had seen it happen. She moved so fast that they barely kept up. And the genin had missed it but did not miss the result. It made them think of their own strength.

In the illusion Arashi had created, Irina was defeated by Zabuza rather easily, but now, seeing what she had done to that army the Demon of the Mist doubted he could injure her, much less take her in a real fight.

Kakashi knew exactly how strong she was and he wasn't stupid enough to try and take her on. Sure he sparred with her, but she held back. He knew she did.

Naruto knew as well. He knew what she was capable of. And it only made him more determined to get stronger and fight her someday.

Sakura admired her even more and Haku and Arashi were the same. But Sasuke looked at her like an opportunity. He wanted to get stronger, so he could exact his revenge for his clan and his brother. He wanted to kill the man that massacred his clan and was convinced she could take him to that level. But little did he know that the lust for power would nearly destroy him.

**AN: Longest chapter yet!**

**So yeah that's done.**

**Fun fact: The name "Arashi" means storm and "Koe" translates to voice. So his name means Voice of the storm. **


	17. We Look Hot!

**This is the dispute between me and my friend:**

**"Highway to hell is better"**

**"No. Stairway to Heaven is."**

**"It's too soft"**

**"I bet t****hat's what she said last night"**

**"...Douchebag" **

**On to the story! **

**Chapter 16: We look hot!**

**Sasuke**

Within a week the bridge was finished.

With the joint efforts of the shinobi, every citizen in wave, and about a hundred thousand Kage Bunshin, the structure was finished very quickly and people started celebrating and getting drunk off their asses the night it was finally complete. And Team 7 and the new additions to the Namikaze clan were no exception.

"Naruto-baka you can't drink that!" Sakura screamed at him, seeing him holding a bottle of sake.

"Piss off Haruno." he said chugging some down. "Besides the moment we became shinobi we were considered legal adults. Old enough to kill, old enough to get drunk" He took another swig and passed the bottle to Arashi who drank from it as well.

"Naruto-sama's right" he said, they had tried to stop him from calling him the honorific but it was in vain. "It's that way even in Kiri" he frowned down at the container. "Though the alcohol there is a bit stronger"

He held the bottle towards Sasuke. "Come on don't tell me you're scared, Teme" Naruto taunted and the Uchiha took the bait. He grabbed the bottle and took one gulp. But it burned his throat, he grabbed the nearest bottle of water and chugged it down.

Naruto and Arashi were laughing uncontrollably while Haku did so softly, as if to not hurt the his ego. Sakura sighed in defeat and choked some down when they dared her to. They whooped and cheered when she didn't spit any of it out. But she started getting dizzy then and there. It appeared that the pinkette was a light weight.

"Say, where's Kakashi-sensei and Irina-sensei and Zabuza-senpai too? They're all gone." She slurred slightly.

"Not they're not, they're by the bar. You're just drunk" Haku giggled and they all laughed and Sakura did so with them but took the jab good spiritedly.

"What are they doing?" The usually quiet Uchiha said, but the alcohol was getting to him.

"Like I said by the bar, but now I think they're gonna have a drinking conest" Naruto answered him taking, yet another, swig from the sake bottle.

"Ne, let's watch" Sakura giggled her cheeks slightly pink.

(Kakashi vs. Zabuza vs. Irina)

"I put a hundred on the one with the giant sword" One of the people betting announced.

"No way, look at him I bet he doesn't last. My money's on the silver head" another man argued.

More people joined in. And crowded them the genin and Zabuza's apprentices did as well. They shoved people out of the way and sat on the stool next to their sensei.

Naruto and Sasuke smiled at each other mischeivously and pulled out all their money. "Four thousand on the lady!" They announced and people looked at them like they were crazy.

"No way she can win" One man said in the crowd but Irina ignored him and just kept reading the book she had in her lap.

"Alright! Alright!" The bartender said, silencing them and calling everyone's attention. "Now for this little contest we're serving our heroes the finest we've got and they deserve nothing less. The last one still puke free wins." The bartender raised a little green flag.

"Ready!" Large shot glasses were placed in front of the three in even amounts. Zabuza took of the wrappings covering his mouth and Irina and Kakashi both cast a genjutsu on their masks.

"Set" Irina sighed and snapped her book shut. But Kakashi and Zabuza felt the pressure they each took a glass in one hand.

"Go!" The flag dropped.

The men took their glasses and downed their drinks quick. But Irina just casually lifted the glass to her masked lips and drank the liquid down. No one cared about the fact that she and Kakashi were drinking right through their masks, they were too drunk.

More were placed in front of them and they all drank at the same pace. They kept up with each other, drink, after drink, after drink, after drink.

They passed the fifth round.

Sixth.

Seventh.

Eighth.

"Come on. Chug"

"Chug. Chug. Chug. Chug" the people watching chanted even the twelve-year olds.

After a while Zabuza nearly puked his guts out but managed to hold it in, so he stayed in the competition. Kakashi was swaying in his seat but managed to keep it in. Irina just went back to reading her book and drinking at the same time.

"Damn! I think Irina-sama might win" Arashi said obviously impressed.

Naruto and Sasuke shared a look. "There was never any doubt. We've seen Irina-sensei drink before. She was up and walking steady while everyone else in the bar was out cold" Sasuke laughed at the prospect of getting all that money back.

"Damn!" Arashi repeated. "And that stuff they're giving them is the best they've got. Not the watered down piss they gave us" he frowned down at his sake bottle but shrugged and drank anyway.

"Oh and the cyclops is out!" The bartender announced. They pushed people out of the way and saw Kakashi was slumped against the bar and was emptying the contents of his stomach.

"It's just the lady and the big man left"

"Come on nee-san!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke shook his head but smirked inwardly.

"She doesn't even look tipsy" Sakura remarked.

After the nineteenth shot Zabuza frowned down at his glass and puked again but this time he went down. Irina shrugged, drank her shot down, took the former nuke nin's and drank his down.

That came up as twenty for her. Screaming, crying, groaning and the sound of money being passed around was heard in the crowd that was watching. The most amount went to Sasuke and Naruto who nearly cried tears of joy at seeing the money that piled up in their hands.

But their faces dropped slightly when Irina took a third of it. "My effort, my money." She said pocketing the ryou. Her words were steady and not the least bit slurred.

"How are you still sober?!" Haku asked finally showing some emotion.

"Just am" she answered closing her book.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Naruto asked her jokingly

Sasuke raised and eyebrow. "Dobe you watched her, there is something. She can't get drunk" they laughed at that and Irina rolled her eyes.

"I can get drunk but it will take_ a lot_" She then eyed Sakura, Naruto and Arashi who looked unsteady on their feet. "But it look like it isn't the same for you three. Come on we're taking you back to Tazuna's"

They followed her to the exit. "Wait what about Zabuza-senpai and Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura drunkenly asked.

She shrugged. "They're big boys, they'll be fine"

"Fuck you asshole!" Zabuza's voice rang out in the crowded bar. They whirled around just in time to see him smash a bottle over someone else's head. The guy punched him but barely even made him turn his head. But the violent shinobi hit back anyway. Eventually someone tried to take a shot at Zabuza from behind but Kakashi stopped him.

Soon it turned into an all out brawl between everyman in the bar. Hell, even the bartender was fighting. But at the center fending off everyone was Kakashi and Zabuza.

The kids sweatdropped but Irina just eye-smiled at them "See, perfectly fine" She walked out and the genin and apprentices followed.

They walked down the road to Tazuna's stopping Naruto, Arashi and Sakura from wandering off and doing something stupid. When they got home the two out of the three dunken children wouldn't go to sleep.

"But I don't wanna!" Naruto said slurring his words.

"Go to bed Naruto" Irina said, giving him a hard look that he didn't register in his state.

"But I-*hic* am in bed! But you didn't tell me to go to sleep!" He said and tried to pull of the cover but his older sister pressed a spot on his neck and he fell face-first onto the floorboards with a loud thump.

She looked at Arashi "Do I have to do that to you?" She raised an eyebrow.

He instantly lied down on his futon. Irina shut the door. The boys shared a room while Haku and Sakura shared a small one. Kakashi and Irina shared a room and Zabuza slept on the couch, out of preference.

"You two keep and eye on them. I'm going back for Kashi and Zabuza" she said to Haku and Sasuke before heading out into the night.

They sat in an awkward silence for a while. Surprisingly it was Sasuke who broke it.

"I wonder how my aniki would react to me and Naruto drinking." He said out of nowhere.

"Depends. If he's like Irina-senpai and Kakashi-senpai, I think he wouldn't be mad" She answered.

The raven-haired boy shrugged. "Then I guess he won't be mad."

More silence followed.

"Whats it like in Konoha and in the Namikaze compound?" The hyōton user asked.

"Never been to the compound. Only outside the gate." He said briefly.

"And Konoha?"

"Hn" he answered

"That's not a real answer" Haku said and he just shrugged again. She sighed.

"If you didn't want to talk to me you could have just said so" she moved to go to her shared room with Sakura but Sasuke grabbed her wrist.

"No sorry I do want to. It's just...I'm not used to talking with others outside Naruto, Irina-sensei, Kakashi-sensei and my nii-san. The people who know me" he said that last part looking down.

Haku smiled slightly "My name is Haku Momochi formerly Yuki. I have the hyōton kekkei genkai and am now under Irina Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. I like practicing medicine, reading and am excited to see Konoha." She said smiling at him

"What are you doing?" He asked confused as to why she'd given him that information.

"Introducing myself. So you know who I am and I could get to know you" she said as if it were obvious.

The smallest hint of a smile, not the cocky smirk he usually had, played on his lips. He let go of her wrist before retruning her gesture.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha a genin of Konohagakure no Sato. I like tomatoes, training and those close to me. I am hoping to unlock my sharingan soon and I would like to show you around Konoha my self when we get there." He said which made Haku smile that he actually tried.

They talked through the night and then some. It was about 2:00 a.m when they finally fell asleep.

* * *

**Irina**

"I wonder what Oji-san and Tachi' will say when I tell them the great Sharingan no Kakashi lost a drinking contest to a girl, got drunk off his ass, got into a bar fight with Zabuza Momochi as his partner and finally ,the icing on the cake, somehow ended getting dressed like geisha with said nuke nin" she laughed at the last part.

Zabuza's face and the surface of Kakashi's mask was covered with white make up, red lipstick, and dark eye liner. The best part were the outfits. Kakashi was wearing a dark blue kimono, patterned with cranes. Two ornately decorated fans were at his waist and his headband was a bracelet now. Somehow in his drunken state he was walking perectly well with okobo on his feet.

Zabuza's was even better. His was a blood red kimono with a cherry blossom pattern. He was wearing tabi socks and zori but he still stumbled from being pissed drunk. The best part about his ensemble was his sword which had been transformed into a parasol, a pink parasol. On top of the blade was paper decorated with flowers. The kimono reached just above his knees so you would see that the Demon of the Mist has chicken legs!.

"You're not gonna say shit!" Kakashi slurred.

"And why not?" Irina played along.

Zabuza joined in "Cause we look hot!" He drunkenly said and Irina just barely contained her laughter.

"Oh Kami-sama." she said shaking her head. "You're just drunk" she said to them

"Yeah, that may be but we're still hot!" Kakashi chimed in somehow walking like nothing was wrong. She chuckled at her best friend's behaviour. This was supposed to be the man who, collectively with her, was able to decimate entire countries. But here he was strutting and swaying his hips on the way to their client's house

She was almost tempted to film all of it but she decided she wouldn't embarrass them further...so she just took pictures instead!

Kakashi slid open the door to Tazuna's

"Honey I'm home!" he shouted to no one.

"You dumbass" Zabuza scolded him "...you're the wife" he corrected.

"Oh yeah" Kakashi slapped his forehead. "Baby, welcome back!" He said to no one again.

Irina shut the door and turned to see the two drunken men poking a sleeping pair of kids in the form of Sasuke and Haku. Zabuza stared at them drunkenly

"Aren't they a little young to be sleeping together?" He asked.

"Ookaaay! I think it's time the geishas went to bed!" Irina interrupted, avoiding the awkward conversation. She grabbed Zabuza and Kakashi's arms and took them to their room. He could have her futon for the time being, she wasn't sleepy anyway.

She half-guided half-dragged their asses up the stairs. She had them lay down and didn't listen to a word they said after Zabuza had mention "protection"

"But no! He's right! They should be using a co-" she slammed the door and walked away.

"Kami almighty" she muttered and was shocked by her own use of the term "Didn't realize I talked like that already" she said a sad smile on her face beneath her mask. She made her way to Sasuke and Haku and carried them to their rooms.

Five of her comrades were pissed drunk, three out of the five were twelve-year olds. The other two ended on a couch together snuggling. What was happening to her life? Maybe she was drunk? Nah!

The only that could get her drunk was her own special brew, that she brought out during parties at the 14th squad's place and man, everyone who drank it would end up wasted by the second shot, depending on how high their alcohol tolerance was. She still held the record for most drinks of the stuff.

Maybe she should have told Zabuza that before he challenged her.

* * *

**Kakashi**

He woke up with a massive hangover.

That Irina fixed by putting something in his coffee that cleared the headache. The whole breakfast Tazuna and his family were asleep still tuckered out from the celebration and so were the genin and Zabuza. At the table Irina would not stop grinning behind her mask every time she looked at him.

"What?"

She stopped snickering. "What do you mean, what?" She asked innocently.

"You keep staring and laughing."

She tried changing the topic. "Sorry, I just remember how you lost against a girl in a drinking contest." She smirked behind her mask.

"Hey to be fair, for me, it was never a contest against you, it was against Zabuza he was the one who pulled you into it. I knew you would win from the get-go." He sipped his coffee and suddenly shook his head.

"Damn that's good! Anyway, I knew I wouldn't win against you I was just hoping to do better than him."

She scoffed and the. Laughed when she looked at him. "If it's any consolation you do look prettier than me" he raised an eyebrow and she started laughing.

"Nii-san, what happened to you?!" They turned their heads to see Naruto in the doorway. Kakashi rushed to the nearest bathroom and screamed when he saw his reflection.

"Holy Shit! Rina' what the hell did you do to me!?" He pointed an accusing finger at her. She batted her eyes innocently.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who volunteered to be taken to a hostess club and be made over." She argued and then started laughing when Kakashi realized what had happened last night.

"Oh shit." he muttered. He remembered all of it, and he remembered Irina there for all of it, holding a camera.

"Oh shit!" he rushed to the table when he saw said shinigami/shinobi holding the same camera and showing their little brother the contents.

Naruto couldn't contain his laughter at seeing his surrogate older brother dressed like a hostess and doing interpretive dance on a stage with Zabuza.

"Not a word to the others, you hear me?" He threatened.

"Whatever you say...Geisha-san" the Namikaze siblings exploded into laughter again.

Kakashi groaned and slammed his head on the table. "Let's just get every body up and go home" he begged.

"Goodbye!"

"Have a safe journey!"

"Thank you for everything!"

"Cheers for our heroes!" The crowd roared in agreement as they waved at the retreating forms of the konoha shinobi.

"Goodbye!" Naruto was the only one who waved back that enthusiastically while the others just raised their hands.

"Ojisan, we never really though of a name for the bridge" Inari suddenly realized.

Tazuna rubbed his chin. "Hmmm. How about the Super Sexy Tazuna Bridge!?" He laughed and people groaned and threw things at him

"I was thinking something more along the line of the Great Namikaze Bridge. So we can remember Naruto-nii who helped us get our courage back and Irina-nee who freed us from Gatō."

"The Great Namikaze Bridge?" Tazuna thought about it. "That's perfect!"

* * *

**Haku**

"Welcome to the Namikaze compound!" Naruto threw his hands up in a grand gesture and it was not wasted.

She was shocked by the size of the place. On their way they had passed the Hyuuga compound and the Uchiha district, and the Namikaze's place was big enough to house both. On the stone gates was a crest. It was a circular carving of a swirling but sharp wind and inside that was a an even smaller carving of a wave in the stone gates.

"The Namikaze symbol" Naruto said when he saw her staring.

Haku nodded. Irina traced the outline with her fingers. "Nami meaning wave and Kaze meaning wind." She explained.

"This place is fucking huge!" Zabuza tried to push the stone gates open but they wouldn't budge.

"What gives? This place of yours broken?" He asked looking back to the Namikaze siblings.

Irina shook her head. "Our father put a _**fuinjutsu (Sealing Technique)**_ on it years ago. Only those who are a part of the clan can open these gates and I haven't listed your names under the members yet." She put her hands on the stone crest and the gates instantly parted.

"It's pretty late, Naru-chan will get you settled in and you guys can pick your rooms." Irina abruptly said and shunshined away to somewhere in the district.

"What her problem?"

* * *

**Irina**

She rubbed the fabric between her fingers.

They weren't even dusty.

She looked at the old band posters on the blue walls from the outside. She sat down on the small bed with the plain grey bed sheets and white pillows. She looked around and pursed her lips. She stood up shaking her head and went to the nearest room.

By instinct she still knew her way around the compound after all these years. She slid open the door to see a larger room. The bed could've fit five people but only two and occasionally four people slept on it back in the day. There was a nightstand with a picture frame on top of it.

It was the four of them, in front of the Namikaze compound gates. Irina was lifting up her little brother by his waist and eye-smiling. Present-Irina smiled behind her mask at seeing the old one she wore. Her little brother smiled brightly, his face uncovered and the whisker marks on his cheeks visible.

She touched the frame and the faces of her parents. Her father's radioactive blonde hair and her mother's tomato red locks. That's how her hair color came to be. She thought. It usually didn't work that way but it did in this case. It was strange seeing her Tou-san's face and seeing that present-Naruto looked so much like him.

She couldn't stop the single tear that leaked from her eye and dropped onto the glass.

"I knew I'd find you here."

She whirled around to see Kakashi standing in the middle of the room not coming in contact with anything, as if he was scared to disturb the place. Seeing her tear-streaked face he abandoned all sense and suddenly enveloped her in a hug.

If it was anyone else she would've Judo flipped them or broken their arm, but this was Kakashi. She trusted him.

"It was my fault" she gasped for breath the way you do when you try to speak when you cry.

She sobbed against his chest and he held her. "No it wasn't, they told you that, We told you that. It wasn't your fault" he assured her but it did nothing to convince her

"No, no" she sobbed. "If I hadn't lost control, if I hadn't tried to push the limit they would still be-"

"Shut up Rina-chan" he said. "No one could've controlled it" she didn't listen she just continued to sob against him.

"The worst part is that I remember how it happened, but I don't remember them. Nothing , there is nothing in my mind other than their lifeless faces that pertains to them but I feel the connection and the pain when I think about it."

He gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm here for you" was all he could say. There was nothing to say to that.

"Thank you"

Kakashi sighed. "...What are best friends for?"

**AN: Did Irina just get friendzoned?**

**R&R you crazy mofos. **


	18. Untitled

**Lalalalala! musical chapter cause I have writers block.**

**I own nothing!**

**Bold****: Zangetsu**

_**Italic and bold: Inari**_

**Chapter 17:**

**Zangetsu (Bet you weren't expecting that) **

The Zanpakutō spirit watched the scene between his master and the young man who always hung around her. It was raining in her inner world, a side effect of her tears

**_"Man, I wish those two would stop acting like best friends and say they love each other already" _**Inari, his master's hollow said.

Zangetsu turned around to her holding some sort of rectangular obect and pressing buttons on it. **"We can't be sure that's how she feels and what on earth are you doing?" **He asked seeing her pressing the buttons furiously and sticking her albino tongue out in concentration.**  
**

_**"Playing this game rider put in the mansion she thought up for us. Just randomly found it in a room filled with this cartridge things. Oh hell no! Not that goddamned rollout again!"**_ She exclaimed and kept pressing the buttons.

**"Pokémon"** Zangetsu said after reading the label on the box of the cartridge.

**_"Fuck you Whitney! And as for that whole "we don't know how she feels" thing. Just look at the way she acts around im'. She's hardly ever come out from behind her mask and I don't mean the one on her face. Fuck! Stupid game. Stupid Miltank! " _**She began to press the A button furiously, hoping her Quilava's attack would get rid of what little health the cow Pokémon had left.

**"Yes but she does act like herself around Naruto and Itachi"** Zangetsu argued

**_"Hmph. That's her brother and her _real _best friend, of course it's different. Are you kidding me?!" _**She screamed at the screen._  
_

Zangetsu still wasn't convinced.

"_**Mark my words Zanny"**_ Said Zanpakuto twitched at the nickname. _**"Those two will either, hook up then break up, get married to each other, or be in a relationship until one of them dies. Damn that was morbid."** _She said realizing the words she chose. _  
_

Hmmm.

_**"Goddammit! Fuck this!" **_Inari threw the console to the ground and walked away practically steaming.

Zangetsu raised an eyebrow and bent over to pick up the device. He didn't see what was so exciting about it...Until he started playing and created a new save file.

He didn't sleep for days.

* * *

**Naruto**

He didn't exactly know where his sister went but he understood.

It was probably hard for her to come back. While she went her own way he had given Zabuza's group a tour.

"And that's the main house!" He said enthusiastically to the people who were panting, trying to cath their breath.

Arashi glared at him "Kiri isn't this big!" That wasn't true. But here he couldn't shunshin everywhere, he didn't know the place well enough.

"The Namikaze clan is on of the oldest clans in Konoha" Naruto explained. "When the village was just being built, they had this compound, which wasn't a compound at all, made, but at first it was a command center, a training ground and barracks. That's why the place is so huge."

Haku raised her hand like a student. "But how did it fall into the Namikaze clan's hands?"

"During the First Great Shinobi War, Kumo laid seige to the place and it was nearly destroyed. Every asset Konoha had, had been on the field and this place was left unprotected." he saw the look on Zabuza's face.

"Stupid I know, but it was in the final days of the war and we had sent out everything we had left.

The Namikaze's were the first to get the report of the attack. And they were the fastest to get here." Naruto pointed to the main building

"The command center was there so Kumo's forces went after that first. A lot of blood was spilled on both sides, when the rest of the village's forces returned they came back to this place intact, sort of, and had honored the clan by giving them the place to use as a compound after the first war, but during the second war many of the clan members died in the war, leaving only one survivor; my grandfather"

The story stopped there, but there was no need to continue.

After a few minutes of silence Naruto finally spoke up. "Come on I'll show you where you'll be staying" he lead them through the main house again to the eastern side of the compound.

"This was the servants quarters." Naruto said simply.

The former Kiri shinobi gaped at the building almost as large as the main house. "How the hell is this a servant's place!?" Zabuza exclaimed staring at the towering structure.

* * *

**AN: Sorry to interrupt but I must explain. In this world, the timeline of Naruto and the modern world align. So if you see mentions of modern technology or songs then it's meant to be there. Don't argue!**

* * *

Four floors, four bedroom on each floor except the first one. One of the four rooms on the first floor was a lounge, more western style, three couches placed symmetrically in front of a huge flat screen. Some sort of console on the coffee table between the television and the furniture. An adjoining room was the kitchen which was, once again, more western and modern style. The bathroom on the other hand had the option for a shower, a tub bath or the natural hotspring that was connected by a door in the bathroom. They stared at the television and Naruto wondered why. Hiashi Hyuuga's flat screen was even bigger.

And another room was the armory, full of any weapon you could think of.

"Holy shit" Zabuza picked up a katana from a rack of them and started demonstrating his skill with it.

"This place is amazing" Haku said. "I could hardly see how this is a servant's quarters.

"Actually in the days when my..parents and I lived here last, this was where nee-san and I would sleep. We have rooms in the main house but we prefered it here. You see, No one lived here because we didn't like the idea of servants."

"Who wouldn't want someone catering to their every need and want?" Zabuza asked.

"Someone who didn't want to be a lazy-ass who can't do anything on their own" Arashi answered. "I was the same way with my clan's servants."

"Who says I-" Zabuza began but their he cut him off.

"There's an infirmary on the second floor, a library on the third one and a recreational room on the fourth one along with the bedrooms and corresponding bathrooms." Naruto said, not wanting an argument between the two shinobi.

"What do you mean recreation?"

He guided them up the steps, to the biggest room on the top floor, at the end of the hall. Half of the room had white walls other half was painted blue. On the blue side was a variety of musical instruments. A dozen guitars hung on the wall, from acoustic guitars to electric to bass. A drum set was in the one corner and a grand piano was in the other. A keyboard was stationed below the guitars on the walls. Other more classical instruments were tucked in to a shelf. There were flutes, clarinets and bows for the cello and violins on a rack. In the middle of this side was a few microphones set up but unplugged. Naruto walked to a part of the shelf and picked up a ukulele.

"Musical instruments on this side, and arts and crafts on that one. In the family we played a lot of music. And with my mother and my sister they painted a lot, while me and my father, we were shit at art." He chuckled at the memory of him attempting to paint and it ending in a mess and a five-hour bath.

"That tough bitch?!" Zabuza asked. "The same girl who took me down is a stuffy "finer things in life" lover? The **_Senshi no Ojō_**?"

"Is that so hard to believe?" A voice asked them and they all turned to see Irina and Kakashi leaning on the grand piano. "And I'm not like the stuffy pricks who have sticks up their asses, I just enjoy art"

She pointed to a section of the white wall which was covered in paint. Upon closer inspection you could see that this was not originally part of the paint job. It was an abstract, mixes of blues, greens, reds and yellows and other colors. All contrasting but still fitting together.

"She made that when I was seven" Naruto explained.

"It's beautiful." Haku gingerly touched the painting as if she was scared the paint was still wet. "Amazing for a child"

"Thank you, but always I prefered music" Irina sat down on the bench in front of the piano she was leaning on. She played a few notes of what Naruto recognized as "Titanium"

"You guys play anything?" She asked when she was done.

"I know violin and the flute." Haku raising her hand again but Naruto grabbed it and pulled it down.

"Please stop doing that we're not teachers and you're not a student" She nodded and kept her hand down.

"Anyone else?" She looked at Zabuza.

"No way in hell" he answered.

Kakashi finally spoke up for the first time. "Well you don't know this but I learned to play on your old guitar while you were away." He said to Irina. "And I learned bass"

"Arashi what about you?" Naruto turned to see him holding his older sister's black Fender Stratocaster.

Irina whistled appreciatively. "I guess that answers that. Good taste kid. I haven't picked up Jimmy since I was a kid"

"You named your guitar Jimmy?" Arashi raised an eyebrow.

"Actually I think it's your now, it suites you" The brunette's eyes widened and stared down at the guitar the back up to Irina.

"Seriously?!" He asked disbelieving.

"Yeah, looks good on you" She said and smiled. "Now show me what you got kid." she said throwing him a pick from the shelf. She plugged the guitar in along with one of the microphones.

Arashi gulped, and took in the five people staring at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and started playing a song very familiar to Naruto's ears.

The blonde instantly reacted and went to his drum set and played along. Arashi smiled he heard the bass line and saw that Kakashi had picked up a guitar.

Irina raised an eyebrow. This would be interesting.

* * *

**Bold: Arashi**

_Italic: Irina_

_**Bold/Italic: Both**_

**Load up on guns, bring your friends**

**It's fun to lose and to pretend**

**She's over bored and self assured**

**Oh no, I know a dirty word**

**Hello, hello, hello, how low?**

**Hello, hello, hello, how low?**

**Hello, hello, hello, how low?**

**Hello, hello, hello!**

**With the lights out, it's less dangerous**

**Here we are now, entertain us**

**I feel stupid and contagious**

**Here we are now, entertain us**

**A mulatto**

**An albino**

**A mosquito**

**My libido**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

**A denial!**

* * *

Naruto smirked behind her mask when Arashi sang the last line. It wasn't the full song but impressive for a twelve-year old.

"Damn kid!" Zabuza exclaimed. "You never told me you could play"

"And you have an amazing singing voice." Haku added with a light blush on her cheeks. Ah! The guy with a guitar and a voice stereo type.

Irina stared at him dully impressed. "Glad I gave you Jimmy"

Arashi frowned "Are you sure? I mean it's yours and I don't want to seem like a-" Naruto silenced him with a hand on his shoulder and his older sister slapped the back of his head lightly.

He still struggled not to fall face-first.

"Take it." Naruto insisted. "It's obvious you're damn good at it and nee-san has five others." He tried to argue but the Namikaze siblings wouldn't listen, so in the end Irina carved his name on the back of the guitar. He liked the way she carved it in and she painted his clan symbol on the front like he asked.

"There you go Koe" she said handing him the guitar after she fast dried the paint with a flame next to it.

"Arigatou Gozaimasu Irina-sama." He said bowing his head but she put her hand under chin and raised his head.

"I thought I told you none of that traditional stuff?" She asked.

"Gomenasai Irina-sama" he said scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

The honorific irked her but she couldn't do anything about it. Naruto had learned that depending on levels of respect, Zabuza's group called the Namikaze siblings different things

For Haku it was Irina-senpai and Naruto-san or kun. She was older than Naruto so it wasn't right to call him senpai and they insisted for her not to call them sama.

For Arashi it was Naruto-sama or dono and Irina-sama or hime and he refused to call them anything else.

For Zabuza it was Carrot-top, tough bitch, Pumpkin Head, Citrus and sometimed he used her monikers i.e. _**Senshi no ojo (Warrior princess) **_and **_Kuro Ōkami (Black wolf)_**_. _The Demon of the Mist called Naruto blondie, knuckle head, mini-Hatake, kid, gaki, and he on occasion he would call the siblings by their last names.

She rolled her eyes at the sama part. "Whatever. Naruto take them to get signed in."

The younger Namikaze nodded. "Come on, let's get you to Ji-chan's office so we can put you down as official members of the clan" they started walking out the door but Naruto turned back

"You two coming with us?" Naruto asked Kakashi and Irina who had been quiet most of the time.

The silver-haired shinobi shook his head. "We're going to go find Itachi" he disappeared in a swirl of leaves and Irina followed.

* * *

**Naruto**

He wanted to glare at every person they passed.

He heard the whispers and met the stares full-on. When they saw the former mist nin that's when the hushed voices started surfacing.

_"Isn't that Zabuza Momochi, The Demon of the Mist?"_ he heard a civilian ask a storekeeper,.

_"What's that traitor doing here?"_ he heard another voice say, he glanced up at said man and saw that he was looking straight ahead to the Hokage Tower and ignoring the stares and whispers.

_"And look he's with him."_ Naruto tried to follow Zabuza's example and ignore it.

"I'm not surprised. It makes sense. A demon with another demon, a killer with a murderer" They didn't even bother to say the last sentence in a hushed tone it was as if the wanted the blonde jinchuriki and the former nuke-nin to hear. Well they got their wish.

Killer intent filled the air but it wasn't from either of the shinobi spoken of.

Haku and Arashi's eyes were hidden behind locks of black and brown. With lightning speed the vendor and the customer found themselves pinned to the wall with senbon. The metal spikes imbedded in their clothing. They screamed out for anyone to help them but they saw that they weren't on the streets of Konoha anymore.

They were against a rock wall and below them was what seemed like a bottomless pit. They stared at the abyss, fear evident in their eyes.

"You have no right" They looked up to see Haku and Arashi floating above the chasm and right in front of them.

Arashi was opening and closing his mouth but you couldn't undertand what he aas saying.

"Those two saved my life" she removed one senbon each from their right shoulders. They tilted forward slightly and screamed. "No please!"

Haku ignored their pleas. "They gave us a second chance." She removed the four senbon pinning their legs.

The only ones holding them to the wall were two senbon each. On at their left shoulder and another at their left wrists.

"If anyone is evil it's you!" She picked out the ones on their shoulders.

They were being held up by their wrists and their feet were dangling over the abyss. Their screams of terror filled the air.

"Haku, Arashi stop." They felt a hand on each of their shoulders they behind them to see Zabuza.

"But Zabuza-sama, they-" Arashi let Naruto enter the dream world and stood in front of them.

"Just stop. They're not worth it." He said staring at the two victims with pity.

Arashi glared at them again before he stopped speaking and cancelled the illusion.

"I pity you" Naruto said to them before walking away.

The rest fo the people in the street just stared and wondered what had happened. What they saw was the two people and Naruto's group standing still staring at each other while the brown-haired kid whispered something. But even the civilians learned that with shinobi, nothing is as it appeared.

"Why did you stop us?" Haku asked as they walked. "It wasn't really hurting them. Even if they thought it was real, Arashi wouldn't have let them die"

That was how genjutsu worked. If your mind believes it's true then your body will too. But with the boy's kekkei genkai that fact was eliminated. Even if the victim thought it was true, it was up to him weather or not the effect would be the same on their bodies as it had on their minds.

"..." Neither Naruto nor Zabuza answered they just kept walking.

* * *

**Itachi**

"You think they're ready?" Kakashi asked him when he handed him the forms.

"They certainly have gotten stronger, but it's not my decision. It's both of yours." He said leaning back on the stone head of the fourth Hokage.

Irina looked at Kakashi, unsure. "Can you do this on your own? I'll be gone for most of the first half on this mission and you have to prepare them by yourself."

Kakashi sighed and looked up at the sky. "We're just going to have to find out if I can do it and if they're strong enough" he answered and they stopped talking for a while. They watched the clouds drift by until they heard Itachi's whispers.

"Do you remember our chunin exam Kakashi?"

**AN: Done!**

**So I'm sure you know what's coming.**


	19. Familiar Faces

**Finally the Chunin Exams!**

**Chapter 18: Familiar Faces.**

**? two weeks ago:**

He walked to what they considered his room and climbed to the roof. That was where he met them. They saw him on the roof and the once, little girl told him that he might get hurt. He was shocked to see someone was actually concerned for him.

They played with him, they talked to him, they treated him like any other kid. They were his friends.

That's why he agreed. It was the only way he'd see them again.

* * *

**Naruto**

Team 7, sans their sensei, sat at Ichiraku's, since it was Naruto's turn to pick where they ate. Ayame took away the eight bowls from the three genin, five of them from Naruto alone. He was about to dig in to his sixth helping when he realised his teammates were staring at him.

"What? Is there something on my mask?"

"Fuck it, I give." Sakura shook her head in disappointment. "I will never see your face and I will never know how you eat with it on."

"I stopped trying, years ago" Sasuke joined in "Now I just wonder how he eats so much but never gets to Choji's size."

Naruto slurped his noodles for a second and then the sound stopped but he didn't lift his masked lips away from the bowl. "I would love flip you off right now but I love this ramen too much" he stated.

In response Sasuke slapped the back of his head in an imitation of the blonde's older sister. He choked on the soup and accidentally tilted the bowl, spilling its contents on his clothes.

"Teme!" He tackled the raven haired boy.

They wrestled on the ground, the people at the ramen stand sweatdropped as an almost cartoonish dust cloud formed around their flailing limbs.

"Baka!" Sakura punched both boys in their noses. "We're in a public place you dumbasses, behave yourselves!" She screeched at them

They stared at her in shock before turning their heads to look at each other. They realised their mistake and turned away with synchronized "Hmphs"

Sakura raised her fists again and slammed them into their skulls. "Baka!" she repeated.

"Do I want to know what you two did to piss her off?" A familiar, lazy voice said behind looked up to see his surrogate older brother staring down at them, amused. He was holding some sort of documents.

"Quite a show you're putting on for the customers" he said as if hey were circus monkeys.

"He started it!" They said in sync again and pointed accusing fingers at each other which, in turn, made Sakurapunch them again.

"Yep, definitely don't want to know" Kakashi said before sitting down at the counter. He told Ayame his order and she disappeared into the kitchen to fix it for him.

"So I've got news for you akudo (brats)." he said turning on his stool to face them. "You're other sensei will be away on that mission for at least another week. With your aniki, Sasuke"

"Nani? Nee-san never told me anything." Naruto pouted.

Kakashi shrugged "Probably didn't think it was important to tell you"

"That's cold nii-san, that's so cold."

"Your aniki" Sakura said to Sasuke. "Itachi, right?" The younger Uchiha nodded.

"Him and Irina sensei...alone...on a mission together...for two weeks" Sakura paused in between, as if putting together a puzzle. They had been gone that long.

While this happened Ayame had placed Kakashi's order in front of him. "Itadakimasu" he said before breaking the chop sticks apart and eating through the fabric covering his face like his outoto's

He sipped the noodle soup from the bowl-

"Are Irina-sensei and Itachi-san dating?"

And immediately spewed it out.

He coughed for a seconds before answering "Where did that come from?!"

Naruto fell out of his seat from laughing too hard and Sasuke was smirking. Sakura shrugged. "Well, they've been best friends forever like you two have and now their on a mission together and they've been gone for two weeks, things could develop between them." She squealed.

Sasuke actually let out a small laugh. "That would never happen." They turned their attention to him.

"They're not alone they have someone else with them and they are just best friends" Kakashi defensively

"You're right they're best friends, but that's all it is. Besides, aniki's got his eyes on another girl" his eyes darted to the kitchen where a certain brunette was making Naruto's seventh order.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Itachi nii-san has a crush on Aya- mphh!" Kakashi slapped his hand over his surrogate little brother's mouth and glared at Sasuke. Sakura was squealing again.

"Itachi told us that in confidence." Kakashi pointed out, finally releasing Naruto.

The younger Uchiha shrugged. "Oops."

Kakashi sighed. "You two won't tell anyone. Got it?" He asked Sakura and Naruto. They nodded and he went back to his ramen.

He took another gulp of the soup-

"Who do you like Kakashi sensei?"

And spat it out again.

"Chikusho! Remind me not to eat with Sakura around." he said wiping away the liquid from his mouth.

"Well is there someone Kakashi sensei?" Surprisingly it was Sasuke who asked.

Naruto sported a devilish grin beneath his mask. "I know who it is..." He taunted. "It's-"

"Keep talking and I'll put you on a veggie diet for a month. No ramen." Kakashi threatened.

He immediately shut his trap and Sasuke and Sakura felt disappointed.

Kakashi stared at the now empty bowl on the counter and sighed. Half of it was in his stomach and the other all over the counter. "Anyway my love life-"

"What love life?" Naruto interrupted and Kakashi punch the top of his head.

"Isn't the reason I wanted to talk to you." He held out to them the pieces of paper he had been carrying around.

"What are these nii-san?"

"Forms that you all need to fill out for the Chunin exams" he answered and wasn't shocked when the papers were snatched from his grasp.

"You're letting us enter the Chunin exams?!" Naruto asked eagerly as he read through the form.

Their sensei nodded. "Before she left, Rina-chan told me it was up to me to decide whether or not you're ready and I think you three are."

"Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed. He filled out his form immediately and his teammates followed his example without hesitation.

"The exams are in a few days so you better prepare and be ready to work together." he told the knowingly.

"Sure thing nii-san" Naruto said giving his foxy grin that only Kakashi could register was there.

"Ja ne" Kakashi said before he shunishined( is that a word?) away.

"Alright!" Naruto punched the air. "Chunin exams here we come!" he was brought back down to earth by Sakura's fist.

"Baka! It's not for another few days." She told him as he clutched his arm.

"Geez I'm just trying to get pumped up for training." Naruto said pouting.

They left their payment for the ramen on the counter an walked to their usual training ground.

"Wait we forgot to ask Kakashi-sensei what Irina-sensei's mission was." Sakura realised. But apparently it only mattered to her, because the boys just kept walking and she sweatdropped.

* * *

**Irina**

"A Hollow's Nest. Something you would normally find, solely in Hueco Mundo. But as unbelievable as it is, it seems hollows have gotten smarter over the years. They are usually caused by a high concentration of **_Reishi(Spiritual Particles)_**. They'd gather in a certain place in the living world and hollows would be drawn there like moths to a flame." she said staring into actual flames that burned through the firewood**  
**

"I always wondered why there was a such a small amount of hollows in this world because it seemed that there was _**Reishi** _everywhere, residue from used chakra that was from the spiritual side of the energy. But now I know why. Over the years there was this one source of the energy that was probably like a feast to hollow's. They gathered, multiplied by luring people and turning them, and fed. All in that one spot and it was only a while ago did I sense it and knew it had to be destroyed." She clenched her fist

"Okay so why are we here?" Obito asked her bluntly.

She gave him a blank look. "I have to destroy this nest and you two have to see how." She explained as they all sat around a fire at night. They had set up camp for the time being since their destination was at least two days away.

"Why though?" He asked her again, raising his hand.

She looked at him sadly. "Cause if something ever happens to me you two and Kashi have to be ready to deal with kind of thing."

There was a slight silence. Itachi broke it.

"Do you have any poke?" Irina chuckled and handed him a box.

"In all seriousness here you two are there to observe, like Kashi was, do not fight unless I tell you to." She told them and waited for their nods of assent.

"Oh come on you don't think we're strong enough to take them?" Obito asked loudly.

"I certainly don't think so" Itachi answered and Obito put an arm around his shoulder.

"Oh come on cuz, have some faith!" Itachi glared ad muttered about where Obito could shove his "faith".

"Remember what happened last time? You passed out and Kakashi and I nearly did." Itachi reminded him which made him deflate a bit.

"Besides regular Taijutsu and weapons are useless against hollows. And your justu will affect them but not by much."

"Why is that?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Because you use Chakra, a mix of physical and spiritual energy which is moulded to peform jutsu. And what I use to do jutsu and my techniques is **_Reiatsu_** or**_Reiryoku_**_. _ The latter is used as a source of power for our techniques and the former is reiryoku when it is released this is what can be sensed. The difference between chakra and reiatsu is that chakra is like a watered down version of it. And since you can only defeat a hollow by means of techniques using spiritual energy, chakra is only half as effective as reiatsu depending on how strong the reiryoku and how dense the chakra."

Itachi raised an eyebrow "Dense chakra? You mean like jinchuriki's and Uzumaki's?"

"Actually that's a good example too. Uzumaki's like my brother, have exceptionally dense chakra which makes it a little more effective against hollows and also another kind that works just as well as reiatsu is what is known as white chakra. And to date there is only one bloodline I know with that ability"

"Hatake" Itachi said and she nodded in confirmation.

"So it's only Kakashi?" Obito asked finally understanding.

After that there was no more conversation. Just Irina staring into the fire, Obito trying to be still and Itachi chewing on his poke.

"Can I have some of that?"

The Uchiha's numbers were almost reduced to two that night. All because of poke.

* * *

**Naruto**

She slashed at him from the right and he brought up his sword to block.

Clang!

The blade of his katana was caught in between two of her claws. She smirked confidently and suddenly twisted her arm around, her strength causing him to launch into the air in a sideward spin

He landed on his feet but nearly fell backwards as she continued her assault. She sent a punch to his shoulder with her right fist, claws retracted but he jumped to the side knowing what her brute strength could do. She turned to him and drew out her claws on both hands.

She slashed at him left and right and he managed to block and dodge her attacks every time. But he underestimated her. She faked a slash at his feet and he jumped up only to be grabbed by the foot and dragged back down. He was on the ground two of her claws flanking his throat. She smirked.

"I win" she said triumphantly

He shook his head and eye-smiled. "Look down" he told her.

She looked below not only to see her weapons against his throat but also his sword against her chest.

"Never count out the possibility of a counter" He said to her, panting.

Sakura frowned. "Kuso! And here I thought I finally got you" She retracted her claws and Naruto pulled back his sword.

"Maybe next time" he said as he grabbed the hand she extended towards him and pulled himself up.

"Those new claws are something else." he said rubbing the side of his neck.

Sakura beamed. "They don't come out through a button anymore. Irina-sensei customized it to be activated by chakra, so I can bring out just one blade or all three if I want. " she explained and demonstrated.

"Ok, I think that's enough for today" he said and they started discussing where to eat lunch. They were already on their way to Ichiraku's when Naruto was shoved to the side.

"Out of my way runts" a voice said to them and he turned to see an older boy wearing a black outfit with purple face paint smeared on him and something wrapped up on his back. Next to him was an angry looking blonde girl.

Naruto scowled. "Gomenasai, I forgot it's always ladies first" he saw the older boy Return a scowl of his own

"Are you calling me a lady, blondie?" He sneered.

"Oh I just assumed with the make-up on your face" he said innocently.

"It's war paint dumbass!"

Naruto growled. "Call me another name and you'll need more to cover up your bruises" he threatened.

"Baka! That's enough" Sakura intervened knowing her teammates temper. "You're sand nin. Gomenasai, your village and ours are allies we shouldn't fight like this. Apologize" she said to Naruto.

"He started it!" Naruto protested.

"Kankuro you do the same." The blonde girl commanded.

"Lighten up Temari" Kankuro put a hand on her shoulder. "I just messing around."

Temari gave her younger brother a sharp look. "I'm not gonna let you get us kicked out just because you were "messing around"."

"Kankuro. You dishonor our village." A new voice said. They all turned around to see a small boy with red hair and a huge gourd on his back. Naruto froze.

"I apologize for his behaviour" Sakura, for some reason shivered.

"I- it's fine" she stuttered and he nodded.

"Gaara" all eyes were on Naruto when he said that. The owner of the name examined him before his eyes widened.

Sakura's eyes darted back and forth between the two. "Ne, you know this guy?" He didn't answer he just walked closer to the red-head and suddenly did something she didn't expect. He pulled down the fabric covering his face.

She only saw the back of his head and was too scared of the killer intent coming off of the boy when Naruto stepped closer. She didn't dare to move but she felt the killer intent diminish.

"Gaara, it's me. Naruto." He said and the the suna-nin's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw the familiar whisker marks on his cheeks.

"It's been so long" Naruto said. He reached out to put a hand on the boy's shoulder but suddenly found himself flying backwards towards his teammate.

He sputtered and gasped for breath. The sand bullet that had launched itself into his gut dispersed and traveled back to it's owner, who had an emotionless expression again.

"Naruto!" Sakura ran to him. She hovered over him and raised her head to look at the boy who hurt her teammate but instead saw a familiar figure standing over the two of them with his sword drawn.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was relieved.

"Try that again" he challenged the suna-nin. The boy stared at him for a while before finally speaking.

"Kankuro, Temari let's go" he said and started walking away. The girl and boy with him shot them apologetic looks

Sasuke dropped his blade when they rounded the corner.

"You alright Dobe?" He turned to his best friend with his mask already in place. Sakura had not gotten to see as Naruto had pulled it up when he was sent flying.

"Why didn't he recognize me..." Was all he said.

* * *

**Irina**

It was selfish and so unbelievably stupid.

She knew it was too dangerous for them. She should have gone alone.

But she asked for them anyway.

As they lay there bloody and unmoving, she stopped thinking.

She lost control.

A blood curdling scream filled the night air, only to be followed by an, absolutely, mentally scarring howl. And all who heard were shook to the core and riddled with fear.

* * *

**Important AN: I have got some explaining to do.**

**Yes, this is a crossover into bleach. I just keep forgetting to classify it as such.**

**There is going be a few changes:**

**We will not be going into the lost sub arc**

**Or the thousand year blood war one.**

**This story is also a crossover into many other animes. Leave a review saying which ones you want to see. i guess.**

**That sounded needy didn't it? You people read but why u no review?!**

***clears throat* sorry.**


	20. Enter, 14th

**Chapter 19: Enter, 14th**

**Obito**

In just sixteen years, he has nearly died at least three times.

Each time he was ready to sacrifice himself for others and each time those others wouldn't let them. Stubborn bastards.

He was greatful for the life he had saved by others. Greatful to those that saved it. Kakashi, when they were twelve. He repayed the silver head with an eye. Itachi, when they were fourteen. When Rin had died and he tried to stop what was happening to her Itachi had pushed him out of the way. He saved Itachi's life later that same year.

And then there was Irina. During the year they were trying to restore her memory, a mission was assigned to their ANBU squad. They were attacked by what they least expected, a hollow. The three Konoha nin were frozen and immobile, but it was him who the beast had dove for and just like how she saved Momochi she had jumped in front of the monster and cut it straight down the middle.

He had never repayed her, like he promised. She said it was uneeded. But he always payed his debts.

And now he needed to pay in full.

He had never seen her like this, Kakashi had described it but words weren't enough to prepare him.

He was being crushed, like an annoying gnat.

"Are you two alright?" She said standing over them.

He raised the only part of his body he could move at the moment, his head. He nodded but didn't speak as he was clenching his teeth.

"It's stronger than I thought" he heard her mutter. "I'll take care of this quick, just watch very carefully"

He saw the source of her frustration. A burly man( sort of) in bone-white armor, black hair and purple eyes and what looked like a fraction of the kind of mask Irina had. A sword was strapped to his side. So this was one of the Arrancar she told him about.

"You think you can get rid of me pumpkin?" she raised a certain finger to him and he growled

"I would like to know the name of the shinigami, or should I say sister, I am about to kill." He said.

"Al- Irina Namikaze" she said proudly but she almost said something else. "So you can stop calling me pumpkin"

"I assume you know what I am" he raised his chin in a proud gesture. She nodded in response.

"And you still choose to fight. You're pretty stupid pumpkin." He said and she just stared. He gave a mock-bow.

"Guido Atenor, Cento e Primeira Arrancar" Obito saw how Irina's body tensed up for just a second before falling back into her stance

And then they disappeared in an insane burst of speed. He and Itachi activated their sharingan and even then they could only barely keep up.

He slashed and swung at her from every direction with incredible speed but she was faster. He made a two-handed, horizontal swing at her and with a flash she was gone and the blade of the arrancar cut through air.

"Why do you fight us sister?" He said to her, catching her off guard. "I can clearly see that mark-"

He pointed to her neck

"-and I feel your power. Cero Espada"** (1)**

* * *

**Naruto**

He looked, disapproving as Sasuke glared back at the Iwa team that looked at his best friend/teammate in hatred.

"Just let it go, staring isn't gonna kill me" Naruto put a hand on his shoulder.

He looked back one more time before turning to the blonde. "Yeah, but _they_ just might, given the chance"

"Whatever" he replied and Sasuke knew that was Naruto for: "_Okay I'll be careful"_ at least it was when they were in public. The younger Namikaze was a lot like his sister in that regard, hiding the real him when around people he didn't trust.

They made their way to the academy and to their surprise their other teammate was already there waiting for them.

"Woah, nice wardrobe change Sakura" Naruto complimented her.

She smiled, just the result she wanted. Her usual red battle dress was replaced by a darker red jacket with the Haruno symbol on the back, unzipped over a black tank top over mesh armor. Red gloves that hid her claws were on her hands. They could see the influence their sensei had on her outfit. Black jōnin pants wrapped at the ankles like Kakashi. Low heeled combat boots that only reached her ankles adorned her feet like Irina's they were laced. A dark blue apron with white Sakura petals was tied to her waist. And another familiar sight was the ninja pouch on her left leg and her headband was on her forehead instead if on top of her pink hair which was tied in a ponytail.

"Now you're the only one who looks like an academy rookie Sasuke" Naruto said which made said Uchiha trip him when he started to walk. They would of started fighting then and there had Sakura not drawn her claws and stared at them menacingly.

"We're going inside now!" she commanded. The boys yelped in fear and ran inside the academy building.

* * *

"Please just let us in" they heard a female voice plead.

They heard another boy's voice. "No way you go in there and try this exam you'll fail for sure"

This argument continued until Sasuke butted in.

"Come on, you think you can fool us with a cheap trick like that?" Sasuke scoffed. "We just came from the first floor but it says third, why don't you just get rid of the illusions."

Immediately the air seemed to shift and the sign reverted back to it's original form.

They noticed the two boys blocking the room were gone but didn't question it. Sasuke smirked confidently but was taken down a notch by an imitation head slap from Naruto.

"Teme! If you hadn't done that we could have reduced the number of competition we'd have to go against" Naruto shook his head and face palmed. "Honestly, how did you ever compete with me?" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that!?" He tackled the blonde boy and they started wrestling on the wooden floors.

"Baka! Enough!" Sakura shouted prying them apart and throwing them into the opposite walls of the hallway. They were half buried in the walls and everyone watching back away from the freakishly strong pinkette.

"We're supposed to be fighting other team's not each other. Get your act together!" They immediately climbed out of the wall and Naruto bumped Sasuke's shoulder and the latter smiled and did the same. Sakura shook her head.

"You what are you're names?" they turned around to see a boy with white eyes staring at them waiting for an answer.

"Sasuke Uchiha"

"Sakura Haruno"

"I don't have to tell you anything." Naruto said examining his nails. "You already know my name Neji"

"Ah Naruto, it's you. You've changed quite a bit." Despite being in the same village Naruto hadn't seen Hinata's cousin since he was ten. He wasn't too bad just a bit stiff and cold But he was kind to his cousin.

"I would like to know your name" he turned to see the second bushiest pair of eyebrows in Konoha. He was wearing this, god-awful green jumpsuit.

He stared at the boy for a while realizing the resemblance. "You must be Lee, Gai's told me all about you. I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze- Ahhhhhh!"

He was stopped by a squeal that could only come from a fangirl. "Ohmygod, YourIrinanamikaze'sbrotherandKushinaUzumaki'sson.I'mhugefanofthembothand-" The bun-haired girl in front of him stopped when he held up a hand.

He prepared to speak "Breath" she inhaled.

"Now go, slowly" he said and she nodded.

"My name is Tenten Higurashi, I am a huge fan of your sister Irina and your mother, Kushina." At the mention of the second name Naruto's turned sad and Tenten covered her mouth in shock.

"Oh! I apologize I didn't realize-"

Naruto gave her an eye-smile that would have made Kakashi proud. The one he used against girls to shock them and make them freeze.

"It's okay, a huge fan huh?" Tenten stared at his crystal blue eyes and blushed before answering.

"I want to become as strong Kunoichi like tham and the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade"

Naruto nodded. "That's a good dream to have, there are plenty of strong kunoichi but they could always use one more." He eye-smiled at her again. She blushed even harder.

"Alright Naruto that's enough, you can't do that to every girl you meet, it's unfair" Sakura said

"Hey my eyes are like this for a reason and Kakashi nii-san trained me to use them well." He said giving her the same eye-smile and making her blush.

"Stop it!"

Naruto laughed.

"Kakashi nii?" Lee muttered. "You're Kakashi-sensei's outoto. Much like how Guy sensei has taught me, you have been trained by him! We must spring forth in our youth and have an amazing rivalry to match out teachers! What do you say Naruto!?" Lee said flames of determination in his eyes.

"Huh? You say something?" Naruto said as thought he wasn't listening.

"Damn your, hip and cool attitude, undoubtably, inherited from you brother" he said to Naruto who continued to ignore him.

"Perfect, now it's Kakashi and Gai-sensei, the second generation"

While they were having that spat Sasuke and Neji were staring each other down. The rivalry between the Hyuuga's and the Uchiha's crossed their minds.

Sakura sighed and turned to Tenten. "Sorry about those two idiots."

The weapon's mistress giggled. "Don't worry I have to deal with my idiots, every day too."

"What are you still doing here?" all conversation stopped when they looked up to see Kakashi standing there staring at them.

"Every other has already left, and if you don't moving you're gonna be late. Go!" they all ran up the steps as fast as they could.

Naruto opened the door and all eyes turned on them. But the only one's he saw pale were green ones surrounded by dark circles, orange ones below mint green eyebrows, goggle covered ones, and the pair that trapped his attention were dark, smoky eyes, that he couldn't look away from.

One.

Two.

Seven.

Eight.

And nine. All in the same room

* * *

**Irina**

Privaron Espada.

That what he was.

A former Espada. And by the strength of his **reiatsu **she'd say Guido was Primeira Espada before Coyote Stark was. Oh shit.

They exchanged blows, just testing each other's speed and strength. Half of her mind was focused on sensing wether or not something was approaching the two paralyzed boys she's dragged along. Again, that was really stupid. The moment she came back, she sensed this nest, but back then it was weak, barely a threat.

But over the year she had spent in Konoha, it grew stronger. She knew this wasn't the doing of some mindless hollow. And her theory proved to be correct, unfortunately.

"I think you should pay more attention to me pumpkin." He caught her off guard and landed a quick punch to her gut. He smirked arrogantly but it immediately disappeared when she wrapped her hands around his wrist.

With a yell she started spinning him around with ease. When she released him he went flying and she prepared her sword and gathered **_reiatsu_ **into the blade.

_**"Getsuga Tenshō!"**_ she hadn't used a full powered getsuga in so long. The white and blue reiatsu flew towards the espada in the shape of a crescent, there wasn't any way he could dodge it, so he brought up his blade to block. He held back the attack well enough but only had time to feel Irina's presence behind him, she held something searing hot against his back before she spoke:

**_"Kakyū: Hinoarashi (Fire Sphere: Storm of Fire)"_** she said quietly and his world erupted into blue flames. Like the name implied the entire area and the forest surrounding it was engulfed in a storm of fire, but it wasn't burning Itachi or Obito.

She put her sword back in it's place. She couldn't feel his presence anymore.

That was until she felt his reiatsu spike. "Consume, _**Bestia Salvaje**_!" She heard the Espada cry as he used his Resurrección.

_Wham!_

_Thud!_

"Ugh" she groaned as she pushed herself of the ground.

_**"Cero!"**_ Black energy swarmed towards her and exploded on contact. Her scream of pain filled the air and so did a menacing laughter.

"You thought it would be that easy?!" She lifted her head up to see her flames were diminishing, no they were being sucked in. Guido Atenor stood over her in his Resurrección form, it was like looking at what a minotaur was described as in greek mythology. His body was still humanoid but much larger, hulking over her and casting his shadow. But his mask surrounded his entire head in the shape of a bull, sharp teeth were what looked out of place. But the large horns weren't. Instead of the katana blade he started out with he was holding a large battle-axe.

"You're a fool! Did you really think the powers of a lowly shinigami could kill me?!"

He planted his foot on her back and she clenched her teeth but didn't cry out.

"Show me why Aizen chose you. Show me your power Zero!" He swung and aimed for her neck. She closed her eyes and waited for it

"NO!" She heard the sound of flesh and meat tearing, and bones breaking. But none were her own.

She opened her eyes to see a single sharingan staring at her. Guido Atenor had cut into Obito's body and gotten his axe stuck in his midsection. Obito was damn near bisected but alive.

"OBITO!" they heard Itachi's voice from where he was on the ground, paralyzed. Obito had moved out of will. Itachi could not do the same as his cousin.

"Damned pest!" Guido pushed the Uchiha off his axe and threw his body down. The poor boy turned his head to her.

"I- *cough* told you I would pay you back" he said with his signature goofy grin.

"Shut up trash!" The Espada kicked his body towards Itachi.

Right then and there she lost control. Her vision went red.

_**"Are you sure about this?"**_ she heard her inner hollow speak, she didn't need to answer.

She blacked out.

* * *

**?**

Traveling through the strange senkaimon took it's toll on her. She felt her energy drain away and she was covered in cuts. She winced when she felt several of her ribs were broken.

She took a look at her companion and he wasn't any better, but he healed them quick enough and she felt right as rain. Dark brown eyes observed the forest surrounding them. They started moving but felt a familiar reiatsu spike in the opposite direction. Dark brown met light and they were off, using _**shunpo(Flash Step)**_to get there faster.

They were greeted by a gruesome sight and her companion immediately went to work on a poor soul who was nearly cut in half. She looked up to see familiar orange hair and the very unwelcome sight of her hollow form. She turned her attnetion back to the boy and her companion.

He raised his sword "_**Sōten Kisshun**_, I reject" he muttered and the guard of his blade partially glowed and separated, a half oval barrier surrounded the boy's entire body. Seeing that the boy was still conscious she squeezed his hand.

* * *

**Obito**

"You got a name?" She asked him, her voice gentle and reassuring.

"O-Obito" he said weakly before coughing up blood.

She squeezed his hand again. "Obito you're going be fine just let Oliver here work" he looked at the boy "healing" him, who nodded.

"Thank you" He said and watched in amazement as his upper half was reattached to the lower half of his body. The moment he could feel his legs he tried to stand up. But the girk pushed him back down.

"Stay down." he finally got a good look at them. The girl was taller than him, but he couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, high cheek bones, full lips and dark brown eyes. Her hair was brown and tumbled down her shoulders in natural curls.

The boy was, to be fair, good-looking. Strawberry blonde hair that was untamed but not too long. Light brown eyes that seemed kaleidoscopic, changing shades of brown in every light. But what caught his attention were the clothes they were wearing.

Black kimonos, traditional katanas, and they had tattoos. The girl had her's on her left shoulder, her sleeves rolled up to reveal it, and Oliver had it on the back of his right hand. The black ink marking were identical, both sporting kanji, the kanji for fourteen.

"You two. You're like her. _**Shinigami, Soul Reapers**_" they knew who he meant.

They looked up at their friend. "I hate seeing the captain like this" The girl muttered. She stood up and started running to the orange haired shinigami/shinobi.

"Oliver, keep them back, both of them." Only then did Obito remember his cousin.

"Itachi!"

He tried to run to him but was grabbed by the shoulder. His vision suddenly blurred and he found himself next to his cousin. Itachi had fallen unconscious when Irina's reiatsu spiked and Obito only stayed up because of the adrenaline.

"**_Santen Kisshun_**" he heard the Soul Reaper boy mutter. They were suddenly surrounded by a dome-shaped barrier of reiatsu. Immediately relief washed over him.

The weight of powerful reiatsu disappeared and he could stand up again. He shook Itachi awake. After a while the raven-haired Uchiha only groaned.

"Wake up you stupid weasel!" He kicked Itachi's side and the Uchiha heir jolted awake.

"What? Obito where's Irina?!" He asked in a state of panic. Obito saw Oliver's eyebrow rise when her name was mentioned.

"She's fine"

"She's anything but fine" They turned to the shinigami that stood over them and protected them from harm. "The captain's in a hollowfied state, I assume she's told you what that is" they both nodded in confirmation she had told them and a few others everything.

"She's out of control, angry. None of us are strong enough to take her down when she's like this"

"...Then what's your plan?" Itachi asked after a brief silence.

"Don't have one"

**AN: Done! **

**The 14th division has arrived! And with their arrival comes with an announcement.**

**I take back what I said in a previous author's note. I will be going into the thousand year blood war arc. **

**So can you guess who these two are. It's not rocket science.**

**Sorry about the gender and name change but it will make sense later. Or not.**

**Read and, for Kami's sake, Review!**


	21. Who's who

**Chapter:20 Who's who**

**Charlotte**

From past experience she knew it was practically suicide to come near the captain in her hollowfied state.

Even though she had gained control of her hollow, there was still a part of it that she couldn't control, the part that was a ruthless, merciless killing machine.

She watched the battle between the orange-haired captain and the arrancar in the cover of the forest surrounding the clearing. She could feel their reiatsu and she felt almost as if she couldn't breathe but she stayed strong. Watching the battle was difficult. They moved at an incredible speed.

What she saw was unfortunately familiar sight. In this form, captain had a Hollow hole, decorated with markings stretching from the hole across her chest and shoulders. She had retractable claws on her fingertips and toes, small, furry red tufts, two starting from his collarbone and stretching around her neck and one each on her wrists and ankles, and white skin. Four spike-shaped marks, two of them stopping by the forehead and the other two stretching past the eyes and teeth, going past her chin and joining with the marks on her chest. The mask had two long forward-pointing horns, with black strips extending from their center towards the tips. Her eyes, black pupil, yellow irises, and black sclera, they weren't lifeless but they were menacing and wild.

"Shit, she's in deep" Charlotte muttered. She kept her distance not wanting to be spotted and destroyed.

She watched her throw Guido Atenor back a few feet and hold on to the cloth that usually wrapped her Zanpakuto in it's shikai form. She winded it back dragging the sword with it and flung it forward. It flew toward the Espada and impaled him through the abdomen. When the line was taut she pulled it back and Atenor was pulled towards her.

Crimson energy gathered between her horns. As the Privaron Espada flew closer she fired the cero and it hit him square in the chest. When the smoke cleared Guido Atenor stood, bloody and missing one arm but smiling like a lunatic.

"Hahahaha! Do you see what you are capable of sister!?" He laughed. He looked at his arm and clenched his teeth. The hollow's high-speed regeneration kicked in and it grew back.

"Aizen-sama sent me here. He had me wait for you" he stretched his newly regenerated arm towards her. "Join me!"

Charlotte watched wide-eyed as her captain stepped towards the Espada her hand outstretched towards him. For a horrible moment, she thought the captain would take the offer.

But instead the claws came out, literally. She slashed at him diagonally. Severing his arm again. She raced forward and dug her claws into his chest. Another cero was forming between her horns. And she let out the most sadistic, feral laugh. Even if they were in close proximity she fired it. The smoke was thick and she couldn't see shit.

For an agonizing few minutes nothing happened. Until finally she saw Guido Atenor fall from the cloud and plummet towards the earth. It over, she thought. she breathed a sigh of relief.

But a hand swiped through the smoke and cleared it. The 14th division's captain flew towards the already defeated Espada. She met him mid-air and her hand wrapped around his throat. She slammed him into the dirt. Atenor was done for, she knew that much but that wouldn't stop the captain's hollow. She took another stab at the fallen Espada.

Charlotte's eye widened, it wasn't a battle anymore. This was mutilation. She came out from her cover.

"Alice!" She shouted. "Alice stop!"

The hollow actually listened to her. "He's done for. Just stop."

In the time it that they spoke, Guido Atenor had already gone. His soul dispatched. Without an object of interest the hollowfied captain turned her attention to Charlotte.

She didn't even see her move. But she was suddenly against a tree with the captain's hand around her throat. She poised her other clawed hand to strike.

"You wouldn't!" Charlotte said. "You wouldn't hurt me. We promised each other. Alice it's me." The hollow hybrid dropped her hand.

"Third seat of the 14th division, Charlotte Sanchez. You're the captain of that division not some mindless hollow"

The captain released her hold on the girl's neck and stepped back.

She sucked in a welcome breath. "This isn't you. Now snap the fuck out of it!" She raised a fist and propelled it forward. It hit the spot between the horns and the mask started to crack. She did again, and again, her inhuman strength playing a part. The captain didn't stop her.

When it finally broke, she was more than relieved to see the familiar face of her captain. Or a least half of it. She stumbled and nearly fell, had Charlotte not caught her.

"Always having to bail you out" She said once she saw the captain's eyes had cleared.

The orange-haired woman slapped the back of her head and laughed. "Only seems fair, considering I saved your ass more times."

"Yeah good to have you back Alice" she said and they started walking towards the three men they had left to watch.

"About that..."

* * *

**Chunin exams:**

"Naruto, move" Sakura said

The moment he slid the door open, he froze. He was staring at a few people in the room and they met his eyes.

Sasuke knew he wasn't going to move so he pushed past the dumbstruck blonde. And the moment he entered the room a loud, high-pitched scream hit his ears. He felt arms wrap around him and a weight on his back.

"Sasuke-kuuun!" he flinched.

"Ino, he clearly doesn't like that. Get off him" Sakura said in an annoyed tone while she passed them. Ino was shocked to see that the pinkette didn't argue with her over him. She stopped trying to latch on to him long enough for him to break her hold. He made a mental note to thank Sakura later.

"Where's your team?" Sakura asked. Ino just continued to stare. Stare at the pinkette's new gear and gape at her clipped and serious tone. When she saw the blonde was staring she snapped a finger in her face.

"Ino? Your team, Choji and Shikamaru, where are they?" Ino snapped out of it and shook her head.

"Umm over there." he pointed to where they were seated. "Uh can I talk to you Sakura-chan?" she nodded and they went off to the side.

"Dobe, come on" he called for Naruto but saw he was still staring at something.

Sasuke followed his line of sight to a girl with a Kumo hitai-ate. Light blonde hair, dark cat eyes and full red lips.

"You can hit on her later, dobe let's go" he shoved Naruto a little and that jolted him.

"Uh what? ...Yeah let's go" he followed Sasuke to where 2/3 of team 10 were. While they walked the short distance, he watched his best friend's eyes turn from distracted to playful in an instant like he always did in the presence of others.

"Wow, Shikamaru you actually showed up." He joked

The lazy shinobi sighed. "That troublesome blonde threatened to make me do twice the training exercises and I've already got my Kaa-san on my case, so I figured it was less trouble."

"Why am I not surprised that your mother's involved." He chuckled "Where's Hinata, Shino and Kiba?"

"Looking for a fight Naruto?" They turned around to see said trio.

Naruto eye-smiled mockingly "If I was, I'd look for someone stronger"

"You saying you're better than me?" Kiba asked a smile on his face.

Sasuke joined in "No he's obviously saying he's stronger than you and you're team"

"We're gonna destroy you!" The Inuzuka proclaimed bravely and Akamaru yipped in agreement from atop Kiba's head.

"When hell freezes over. Our team could take on everyone here and still have enough fight left over to kick your ass." Naruto countered

"Hn" Sasuke said in agreement.

The fighting stopped when Sakira grabbed both boys by their ears and Ino punched Kiba in the gut, making him double over.

"Kiba-kun are you alright?" Hinata said from behind Shino.

"Dammit woman!" He exclaimed from the floor. "What kind of girl has that strength?" He said pointedly staring at her breasts.

"Pervy baka! They're bound!" She said crossing her arms over her chest.

Kiba got up. "Keep telling yourself that"

Only to be punched by Ino again and fell to the floor.

"Ow, ow ow! That hurts Sakura-chan!" Naruto.

"Well if you two baka dumbasses didn't fuck around so much you wouldn't get hurt!" She said Letting go of them

"You're starting to sound like nee-san when she's in rage mode." Naruto said, rubbing his ear.

"Just don't pull shit like that again" she told him, scowling.

"She's right you shouldn't call so much attention to yourself." The rookie nine turned to an older Konoha genin with glasses and grey hair.

They looked past him to see half the room was glaring at them.

"Especially you, challenging the entire room like that" he said to Naruto.

The masked genin scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry. And uh thanks..." He was clearly fishing for a name

"Kabuto Yakushi" he smiled at them. "You must be the rookie 9 nine I've been hearing about."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That what they call us now?"Kabuto nodded. "Have you taken the test before?"

Kabuto looked embarrassed. "A few times, and I haven't passed yet."

"Well great. That just means it'll be harder than we thought." Sakura said putting her hands on her hips.

"It is and it looks like they sent some tough competition. But luckily I've been gathering information" he pulled out blank cards.

"Anyone you wanna scope out?" he pulled out one.

Sasuke spoke up "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze" Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

"Your own teammate?" He took the card he pulled out earlier and ran his chakra through it. A picture of said blonde appeared along with stats and information.

Sasuke nodded. "Just wanted to see if you were for real"

"Okay then. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, age 12, a member of Konoha's current team 7 under Kakashi Hatake and Irina Namikaze?" Kabuto said the name of his sensei in a shocked manner. "Uh, completed a total of twenty missions. 16-D rank, 1-C rank, 2-B rank and, wow 1-A rank mission. Impressive for a genin on his first year" Kabuto complimented.

This was all info that Sasuke knew except one detail. "A C-rank?" He asked his best friend and out of habit the blonde scratched the back of his head.

"Long story, I'll tell you later"

"Wow!" Kabuto suddenly exclaimed. All eyes turned to him.

"Son of Konoha's Yondaime Hokage and _**Kiiroi Senkō (Yellow Flash)**_, Minato Namikaze and the _**Akai Chishio no Habanero (Red Hot Blooded Habanero) **_and _**Chimamire no reddo shi (Bloody Red Death)**_, Kushina Uzumaki."

Now a few people in the room were listening in.

"Adopted brother of Sharingan no Kakashi, the Gin ōkami (Silver wolf) and the only known living family member of Irina Namikaze, Konoha's Senshi no Ojo (Warrior Princess), Kuro Ōkami (Black Wolf) and_** Erementaru megami (Elemental Goddess)**_"

Now everyone in the room was eavesdropping.

"Come to think of it I don't think we, besides Hinata, or team 10 have ever met your sister" Choji sai. While he munched on some potato chips.

"Yeah! Is she hot?" Kiba asked which earned him a punch to the gut from Sakura, who he realized was stronger than Ino.

"Why don't you just scream it out to the world who I am and have Iwa attack me now" Naruto said sarcastically, seeing the glares the genin from said village were giving him

"Sorry" Kabuto said sheepishly.

"It's ok. But that last moniker for my nee-san. That was new. When did it get added?"

"About three days ago"

"Ah. Wait what can you tell me about Sabaku no Gaara"

Kabuto frowned. "Aww, you know his name, that's no fun." He shuffled through his deck and pulled out another with said Suna-nin's picture.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Not much is known about him except that he is the third son of Suna's Yondaime Kazekage" Naruto was too disappointed to listen to the info about his missions

"What about her?" he said and they all followed his line of sight to a mint-green haired kunoichi he was looking at earlier.

"Dobe?" Sasuke looked for an answer but was ignored.

"A Taki kunoichi. Strange that they actually sent a team this year."

"Why do they not get along with Konoha?" Kiba asked, tilting his head.

Kabuto shook his head. "It's because they are just a small village. Then again a lot of teams this year are from smaller villages or a new one like those three"

He pointed out a Team wearing hitai-ate with musical notes on them.

"I don't recognize the symbol" Shino said and everyone turned to him, surprised that he actually spoke.

"..." They waited but he stayed silent.

"Ooookay. They're from this village that sprouted up somewhere in** Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields)**. They're a relatively new village and-"**  
**

"You got a problem with us?" The one leading the Oto genin, Dosu, said as they approached Kabuto. He suddenly took a swing at the grey-haired boy and Kabuto sidestepped just in time for it to fly past his face. But the older genin's glasses suddenly broke and he fell down clutching his stomach.

Before anyone else could react, Team 7 was there. Sasuke and Naruto holding their swords to Dosu's neck, the blades crossed. Sakura had her claws out and poised at the chests of the Oto genin's teammates, no one had seen any part of the trio move, they were just there when the Oto genin tried to get at Kabuto again.

"Move. I dare you" she said giving them a menacing stare.

Every other genin in the room tensed and prepared for a fight. Weapons were drawn, handseals were readied, and many fell into fighting stances. All the tension that built was about to explode.

"That's enough!" A commanding voice yelled out. All eyes were on a tall, well-built man, with a bandana covering his head and scars all over his face. A trench coat was draped over his large frame.

"I won't have anyone fighting before these exams have actually begun. Now sit your asses down or I'll fail all of you!"

"Oh shit" Naruto muttered when he recognized the man.

"What?" Sasuke asked and Naruto pointed to the man at the door. "Oh shit" he echoed

"You two know him?" Sakura asked.

He nodded. "A friend of Kakashi-sensei, Irina-sensei and Itachi nii-san's. Head of the Torture and Interrogation Force. Likes to get in your head and play mind games. Plus he can be really creepy and sneak up on you."

"Yeah and we should go to our seats, because he really will fail us." Naruto said finding his assigned seat next to Hinata.

"Naruto-nii" Hinata said politely.

"Hinata-chan" he nodded back.

"Listen up!" Everyone's attention was on Ibiki as he explained the rules of the first test and Naruto nearly had a heart attack.

_"A written exam!?" _He screamed in his head.

God forbid that it be said that his nee-san and nii-san ever lied to him. Kakashi said he was amazing at practical exams and training and techniques. And in contrast Irina said he was literally _shit_ at written exams. It's not that he was stupid, he just didn't have the patience for them.

He read over the first question and flinched. He read the reast and went pale. _"Shit, shit, Shit! There is no way in hell I'm gonna get any of these!"_ He said inwardly. He swiftly looked around the room and was shocked to see almost everyone was cheating.

Neji and Hinata had their Byakugan activated. Sasuke had his sharingan active as well. When did he unlock that? Naruto was sure a few weeks ago he didn't have his sharingan yet. He then understood the test. It was gathering information. He then realized how much of a mastermind Morino was.

"Underneath the underneath" he quoted his brother. That's what Ibiki wanted them to do. Question was, how would he do it? He looked around some more.

Tenten from Gai's team was using some sort of wire contraption and mirrors. It seemed Sakira was the only one who wasn't chaeting, as she knew all the information already. But Naruto was shocked to see her slump forward and his eyes instantly traveled to a certain Yamanaka. Her hands were locked in a handseal that he recognized.

"Shit, how am I gonna do this?" He muttered quietly.

"Pssst Naruto-nii" his head whirled around to look at Hinata. "You can copy off of me if you want. She said offering a perfect view of her finished worksheet.

"Thank you!" He silently screamed.

After a few minutes, and at least a dozen teams eliminated the test was over.

"Time for that tenth question" Ibiki explained the mechanics and shouts of protest errupted everywhere.

"You can't do that. It's unfair!" Kiba protested.

Ibiki sent a serene smiled his way. "It's my test and it's fair if I say it is"

"I can't do this." A genin from Suna said and left the room his teammates following him. Soon more left and took Ibiki's option to come back next year.

"Anyone else?" Ibiki asked the room and smiled when no one stood up.

Naruto knew what was coming when Ibiki reached for his bandana. He hated seeing those scars and wounds, but he knew thay served a purpose. After he made a speech and was about to announce their second test. A small black object shot through the window and it exploded in the form of a banner with a purple haired woman in front of it.

"Oh shit" Naruto muttered, staring wide-eyed at the mesh clad jōnin

"Alright Akudo!" she pointed to the banner. "My name is Anko Mitarashi and I'm your proctor for the second chunin exams." She said with a smile and a victory pose.

Naruto was still staring and Anko noticed him this time.

She gave him a sadistic smile "Why, hello there Naru-chan"

"Oh shit"

**Bonus: How Sasuke got his sharingan**

**Two weeks ago.**

"No"

"Irina please" Itachi pleaded with her.

"If you want it to happen so badly, you do it!" she said rasing her arms over her head.

"But he's my outoto" Itachi protested.

She scoffed. "So it's ok if it's me, his sensei? His metaphorical older sister?" When Itachi didn't anser she started walking away.

"Come on, please. I know he wants this badly" Itachi gulped and took a deep breath "Do it for me as a favor!" She stopped dead in her tracks.

"What did you say?" She didn't turn around.

Itachi took another deep breath. "This is a favor for me" Irina turned with a serious look in her eyes.

"This is your second favor so it's not free. You know my conditions?"

He nodded. "If you ever cash in you favor, I am to abandon what ever I'm doing to help you..."

"Or else...? She waited for the rest.

He raised hand.

She npdded "That's right, if you don't follow up, that is mine. I gave you hand and if you didn't give me one I'll just take it" she came closer and shook his hand.

"Deal"

She started walking away again.

"Just have Sasuke meet me at Training Ground 3 later." She called back and then shushined away.

Itachi swallowed. Why did he feel like he was going to regret this?

**Later**:

Sasuke leaned against a tree waiting for his female sensei, but the one who showee up was a male ANBU with and a Wolf mask.

"Did you need something ANBU-san?" Sasuke said. His eyes widened when the ANBU drew the short sword on his back and swung at him.

He ducked under the blade. "What are you doing?!" He asked in a state of panic.

The ANBU swung at him again and he brought a kunai out to block. The ANBU, having the reach advantage, drove his fist into the boy's solar plexus. He went crashing to the forest floor.

"Why-" but he couldn't breath suddenly as the ANBU operative leaked killer intent strong enough to nearly suffocate him.

He started panting. The ANBU knew it was only a matter of time now. He brought his sword down at a speed no normal genin could block.

_Clang_!

Sasuke had one eye open to see he had blocked the ANBU's tantō. He couldn't believe he had done it, himself. The ANBU drew back and sheathed his sword. The killer intent stopped and he was able to get up again.

He thought of how it was possible he had done that and how he saw it coming, despite the speed. He blinked a few times before he realized that his vision had changed. He could see some sort of strange white and black energy course through the ANBU's chakra coils.

"Congratulations." Came the deep voice from behind the mask.

He took off the animal mask to reveal, bright, spiky orange hair, brown eyes and a black face mask. "If you're wondering what's happening, it's your sharingan."

Sasuke eyes widened and ran to the nearby pond. He smiled at his reflection and saw one tomoe in his left eye and two in the right.

"How-?" the ANBU cut him off.

"You were put in a life or death situation. The best and easiest way to activate a sharingan."

"How did you know?"

"I was told" Out of the trees came Itachi and Kakashi.

Itachi looked embarassed "Sorry Sasuke, it was the fastest way"

"Good job" Kakashi complemented lazily.

Sasuke looked nervous "But who are you?" He pointed to the ANBU who frowned.

"Come on, don't recognize your sensei?" He slapped the back of the Uchiha's head and Sasuke eyes widened.

He took a good look at the orange hair. "Irina sensei?"

She dispelled the henge.

"But why couldn't I see through your henge even with the sharingan active?"

"Because I don't use chakra, that's another story, come on!" she tried to out a hand on his shoulder but the younger one jumped back nervously.

"What's wrong?" she asked him confused.

"Sensei I think it would be better for my mental well-being if you stayed away from me...for a week."

She sighed "Okay" They all stood there for a few moments in silence.

"No seriously, please go away"

**AN:Done!**

**I have got a lot of explaining to do in the next chapter.**


	22. The Cat, the Fox and the Snake

**Killer-B comes into this story and I suck at rapping. I don't even listen to stuff like that! How am I gonna do this!?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either of the animes/manga or any of the real-life books mentioned.**

**Chapter 21: The Cat, the Fox and the Snake**

**Yugito**

The mission always comes first.

That's what she was taught, growing up. Never let anything stand in the way of accomplishing the mission. She never really thought about anything that could break that.

"So that's him" she said when Kabuto practically, announced Naruto's identity.

"He doesn't look that tough!" Karui, her other teammate proclaimed, cracking her knuckles. Their last teammate, Omoi looked nervous.

"Careful, what if he hears you? And then he's stronger than you thought. And when he beats you he might go after me." His train of not-so-quiet thought was stopped when Karui punched him.

"Baka, there's no way some, wet-behind the ears genin is gonna beat me." She said "Right Yugito?"

She was only half listening as her attention was on the boy in question. Spiky, blonde hair. Like really blonde, almost radioactive blonde. Bright, crystal blue eyes. That's all she could see of his face, as it was covered by a dark blue face mask. She knew there was something about him that was different.

_**"Is my kitten getting all flustered?"**_ She heard inside her head and groaned. In her opinion Nibi had the worst timing and the dirtiest mind.

_"Nothing like that. He just seems familiar"_ she answered in her head.

_**"I feel the same way, there's something I recognize**" _Matatabi purred. _**"I can't quite place it." **_

Their conversation was stopped by her sensei, who for some reason didn't leave the room yet.

"Yo, Yugito"

She audibly groaned this time. "What is it Bee?" She answered, praying to Kami that he wouldn't rap. "Shouldn't you be with the other jōnin sensei?"

He nodded, "Fo sho! Only problem is I don't know where to go" she groaned, she hoped just a little too soon.

"Just ask one of the people outside. You'll be fine" she said, not even hiding her attempt to get rid of him.

"Okay lil miss two, I'll do just for you" She breathed a sigh of relief when he finally started moving.

"Yugito" she heard him call her name one last time. She knew this was serious, all rhythm and melody left his voice. "Remember what we're here for and watch that Naruto kid." he said not even bothering to rap.

She nodded and he went on his way. What did Bee know that she didn't? What made him so dangerous. She snapped out of it when she heard a gasp come from several people in the room. She whirled around to see the Naruto's team standing off against another team who looked to have hurt their fellow Konoha nin.

She couldn't help but be attracted by that intense look in the blonde's eyes as he stared down Dosu. She looked to his teammates and saw their determination to protect their comrade as well.

"Move. I dare you" she heard the pink-haired one say. She was impressed, they had all moved so fast and the female one had guts taking on two of them at once.

When Ibiki came in and calmed everything down she found herself staring at him throughout the entire first examination.

**_"Yugi-chan are you in luuuurv?"_** She suddenly heard Matatabi purr.

"What!" She silently screamed loud enough to make her neighbor look at her strangely, she glared at him and he went back to his test.

_"Nibi you have the wildest imagination" _She said. _"Besides, I don't even know him"_

She heard the cat demoness, sigh. _**"Don't you get it kitten, that is love. You feel like you've known that other person for years even though you've never met. And when you do meet, you can't help but look into his eyes and swoon.**_" She had Yugito's attention. She had always thought if it was possible for her to fall for someone.

**_"And if it's meant to be, you two will be in a relationship someday and you'll get closer and closer until all this tension builds up and just explodes and you just want grab him and ride-" _**

_"Nibi!"_ she nearly screamed that out for real. _"You're such a pervert!"_ She was blushing hard and trying to cover her face by slumping over the desk. It went from romantic to perverted very quick.

For the rest of the test she ignored the tailed beast's laughter and purring. After the second proctor literally busted through the window, she snapped out of it and headed to the designated area for the second part of the exam, thoughts of the blonde boy still swirling in her mind. She got so curious that she couldn't take it anymore.

She approached him and tapped his shoulder. She figured it was hitting two birds with one stone.

* * *

**Naruto**

"We're gonna get those scrolls" Sakura informed him.

He nodded. "Thanks"

He was just thinking of possible outcomes. His eyes caught a bright red spot of color and he was eye to eye with Gaara.

Naruto looked at him, waiting for something, anything to happen. For a moment the shorter boy's eyes turned apologetic before he grimaced and turned emotionless again.

Naruto started walking towards him when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

He turned around to see the Kumo kunoichi he had been staring at and found himself captivated by her smoky onyx eyes.

It took him a few seconds to realize that she had introduced herself and extended a hand out to him. Yugito Nii, she said her name was.

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze" he said shaking her hand, he couldn't help but wonder why she'd just openly speak to him like this.

"So what do you think about this place? Training Ground 44, The Forest of Death" she repeated Anko's words.

He shrugged "Trained here once before with my older siblings, it's not that bad. You just have to watch out for the giant bugs, giant snakes, wild beasts and man-eating birds"

"Really?" She asked nervously.

"No, not really" they both laughed but Naruto stopped.

"Well, at least not the the birds they have plants for that purpose." he eye-smiled at her and she stopped laughing and blushed.

If only they had noticed that Anko was telling them how dangerous she wouldn't have thought that they didn't care. But they did, thinking they needed motivation she drew a kunai and threw it at him at a speed almost no one could keep up with. No one except the boy she threw it at, he tilted his head to the right and the kunai flew right past his head, nearly grazing his ear.

Anko was suddenly behind him and holding another kunai to his cheek.

"Seems I couldn't scare you and your girlfriend with this forest, do I thought I'd do it myself." She said, she hooked a finger under his mask and made tugging motion. To her surprise he suddenly exploded in a cloud of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin?" She suddenly stiffened when she felt a kunai press against her lower back.

"I would appreciate it, Anko-senpai if you didn't try pulling my mask off again" he said drawing back and putting the kunai back in his pouch.

She grinned "Sure gaki. Just like your nee-san" she frowned. "Actually more like Kakashi, cause Irina nearly impaled me when I tried to pull down her's"

"Why the curiosity?" He said raising an eyebrow.

"Just wanted to see what you three are hiding" she turned around to see the freakiest genin ever. She didn't look weird or creepy, she looked normal. That was the problem, she looked so normal and serene it was scary. And her teammates looked the same, not identical but the same expressions.

Who has a face like that?

* * *

**In the Seireitei:**

"Aaaaachooo!" The captain of the fourth division sniffled.

"Catching a cold' taicho?" Her grey-haired lieutenant asked.

"No probably just dust" she smiled, making some nearby eleventh division members sweat.

* * *

**Back with Naruto:**

"Here is your kunai back, proctor-san" the Kusagakure genin said.

She tried to smile "Why, thank you" she said walking away from the genin and Naruto, who scratched the back of his head and turned to the kunoichi he was conversing with earlier.

"Sorry about that. I know her" he explained. "Friend of my sister's. Always trying to see what's under our masks"

"And what it under there?" she asked with a coy smile.

He smirked under said mask. "Nothing special, maybe I'll show you someday" he flirted back.

She blushed and was about to say something when she heard the voice of his teammate.

"Naruto, come on! The exam's about to start" Sakura called and Naruto almost looked irritated.

"I guess, this is goodbye." before she could reply, he grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on the back of it.

"For now, at least" she left her standing there, blushing like mad and looking like she was having a war with her thoughts.

He smiled and silently thanked his surrogate older brother for giving him that tip, if he ever met a girl he liked.

"We've got an earth scroll" Sasuke said to him handing him the rolled up parchment. "You're the fastest out of the three of us. If there's ever a need to run, it'll be on you to get away"

He nodded and took the scroll stuffing it in his ninja pouch.

Genin were stationed every gate.

"You have three day to get to the center" Anko announced. She counted down.

"Three!"

"Two!"

People were ready to run the moment their gates opened.

"One!" A horn sounded in the distance and they were off.

The second part of the Chunin Exams had officially began.

* * *

**Kakashi**

He had found a quiet place to read.

In what Rina called the normal world, the book he was reading was a bestseller. Back in that world she had figured out storage seals and used them to her advantage, one of those being the storage of books. It was titled: "Paper Towns". At first he didn't know understand the title but read through it and eventually did.

He couldn't help but relate to the protagonist of the story, this "Quentin" guy. In love with the most beautiful girl, but can never get to her. She suddenly appears on his doorstep offering him the best experience and the she's just gone. He searches and searches but comes up, damn near empty-handed every time. Until finally he finds her. He was only up to that part when a familiar voice called out to him.

He looked around for the person who called his name and his eyes landed on a tall man with long, spiky, white hair. Red lines ran down from his eyes and a wart speckled the left side of his nose. He was wearing Kabuki sandals, green shirt kimono with matching pants and a red vest over it. On his forehead was a hitai-ate that had the kanji for oil.

"Jiraiya-sama" Kakashi snapped his book closed. "You're here"

"Just thought I'd drop in and check a few of the "sights". A group of young girls passed them and giggled and blushed at Kakashi. He shuddered but Jiraiya watched their retreating figures and angled his head as they walked. Kakashi knew exactly what "sights" the gama-sennin meant.

"Peeking on girls at the hot spring again. Tsk tsk tsk" Kakashi shook his head and sighed.

"Hey now, it's not peeking, it's research!" He said defensively "You know it's hard coming up with material for my books. Speaking of which..." The sannin pulled out a little orange book and held it out to him.

"Oh no, I am not taking that thing. If I so much as touch one of those things, Rina _will_ find out and kill me. Then she'll go after you" That much was true, she hated perverts and only tolerated Jiraiya's writing if such literature. If she ever saw Kakashi reading one of those books she would lecture him then kick his ass on the spot.

The older man's expression turned serious at the girl's name. "Speaking of Irina-hime, is she still..."

"Pissed off at you?" Kakashi finished for him and the old man nodded. "She glared at me when I said something that rhymed with your name"

He flinched, it was rare of her to get mad at Kakashi. "I'm willing to bet that she won't let me near Naruto, just yet"

Kakashi nodded.

Jiraiya sighed again. "I guess it's fair. I just hope she _does_ forgive me someday" he stared at the ground for a few moments.

"I haven't seen her since she was eight, Minato's little girl" He smiled at old memories that came flooding back him.

Kakashi laughed quietly "Not so little anymore. Naruto, Itachi and I are having a hard time keeping the assholes away." He said remembering when one guy tried to smack her ass when she walked down the street. He and the rest of Team 7 hog tied the bastard and threw him in the women's hot spring. As much fun as it would have been to see Rina-chan thrash the guy but they didn't want to disturb her from the book she was reading while she walked, that's why she didn't bother to notice the lecher.

"Keeping them away and saving her for someone else?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"It's not like that. She's like a little sister to me and Itachi." he defended.

"Suuure"

"Why are you even here? The real reason." Kakashi opened his book again.

Jiraiya's expression turned serious again. "I heard the chunin exams are going on and that Naruto's in them. I'm worried because a little birdie told me there's an intruder poking around with the exams"

Kakashi knew he was talking about his spy network, the most reliable and vast source of underground information there was.

"Any idea who it could be?" He chose his words carefully, acknowledging that they were in public.

"Don't know yet, but I'll find the snake" Kakashi tried his best to control his expression and not to get angry at the sannin.

"Then why didn't you tell the hokage?" He said through his teeth.

"I did, you're the second one to hear" he relaxed and bid a farewell to a former sensei of team 7.

"Thank you Jiraiya-sama, Ja ne"

He shunshined away to the center of the forest of death.

* * *

**Time Skip(Second Day)**

**Team 7**

They had been walking for hours, without encountering anyone.

Sasuke took point and Sakura brought up the rear, with Naruto hanging on to the scroll. After a few minutes the blonde held out the scroll to the one leading.

"Here, take it. I gotta take a piss" he said crudely but they were so used to it coming from the younger Namikaze and his older sister that it rarely fazed them anymore.

"Why not just hang on to it? You have a better chance of beating someone alone or getting away than we do." Sakura asked.

"Sakura any man would rather die than be caught off guard with his pants down" Naruto said completely serious. She relented.

"Wait we should set some sort of code up to find out if one of us is an imposter or not, in case we separate" he announced

"Good idea. But what?" Sasuke said.

"How about our favorite colors."

Sakura went first "Pink"

"Black" Sasuke

"Blue" Naruto nodded. "Alright, wait for me"

They kept their guard up and waited for the leader-figure to come back.

The leaves rustled and he stepped through the foliage and into the clearing.

"I'm back! Alright, let's get moving"

"Wait" Sasuke called out to him.

"Naruto what's your favorite color?"

"Seriously? Blue" Sasuke nodded and they started walking.

"Naruto you've been wearing that ridiculous mask all day ." Sakura pouted "Just take it off already"

Naruto looked shock but suddenly said "Oh right, sorry guys" he hooked a finger under his mask and was suddenly hit with Sakura's fist.

He crashed to the ground. "Sakura what the hell?!"

The pink haired girl was suddenly on him with one blade, the middle one, from her left hand out and poised at his throat. Sasuke stood next to her.

"You are terrible at henge. First, Naruto's sword has the Namikaze symbol hanging from it on a chain. Second, the metal plates on his knuckles have the Uzumaki swirl not the Konoha symbol on them." Sasuke pointed out flaws in the technique. "Third, we know him well enough to know his favorite color isn't blue, it's bright orange and he would never take his mask off for us, even if we begged"

"But the code you set up..." The imposter said, not even attempting to hide his real voice anymore.

"It was exactly that, a set up" Sakura smirked. "We knew you were following us. Naruto's a sensor and he warned us. We even made a bet who could get who first"

The second after she was done talking, two unconscious Kiri genin were thrown into the clearing with Naruto appearing right after.

"Well, shit" he said seeing that they already had their target out. "You win, I'll give you the 200 ryou when we get out of this place"

The fake Naruto finally dropped the disguise. "Damn, it seems we were a tad careless." The techniqued cancelled out, revealing the final Kiri genin.

"Better luck next time" Sakura karate chopped a point in his neck and he went limp.

"See, I told you learning those handseal codes were useful" Naruto said, walking toward the fallen genin and searching him for his team's scroll.

"Yeah, yeah. You were right and that chakra pulse techniques is pretty damn useful for sensory too" Sasuke brushed him off.

"Damn right. Subtle yet effective" Naruto pulled an earth scroll from the Kiri-nin.

"Oh shit, basically useless to us" Sakura put her hands on her waists.

Naruot shook his head, "Not so. The less scrolls there are for others to find, the less competition" he pocketed the scroll.

"Impressive work"

The moment they turned around they came face to face with two sets of giant eyes and sharp fangs coated in venom. The large serpents sprang at Naruto and Sakura and they disappeared together. Their shouts of protest still heard through the thick foliage. Sasuke was left alone trying to find the person that the voice belonged to.

"Forgive me, but I needed you alone"

The voice was like cold steel scraping against a rock. His ears were hurting from hearing it. And at that moment he felt killer intent on him. It was crushing him, almost as unbearable as how the hollow they encountered in Wave made him feel: utterly powerless.

He turned just his head to see the Kusagakure genin that had given Anko her kunai.

"But now I want to see what you are really capable of." She held up a heaven scroll. "You need this, am I right?" She coiled back a little as if she was a snake ready to strike.

"Then let's fight for the scrolls with our lives!" She sprang at him.

The blade sank through his leg. He screamed.

* * *

**Gaara**

He didn't understand.

He had asked for it. He wanted to see them but when he finally came face to face with one of the ghosts of his past he had to push him away. When he saw the masked genin's face memories, the only good ones he had came flooding back. He nearly smiled.

But then it started.

_**"The ninth. His blood! Bring me his blood!"**_ the voice screamed. He knew if the boy came any closer he would lose control. He had to push him away.

To keep him safe.

_**"Obey me child! Give him to me so I can drink his blood!"**_ the voice howled and his head pounded.

"No, no" he muttered under his breath. He clutched his skull, trying to stop the voice but it wouldn't go away.

There was no stopping it.

* * *

**AN:Done!**

**So did you know that reviewing actually encourages me to write? So now that only three people have reviewed I feel like I'm doing a shitty job.**

**Please ,for the sake of my self esteem, Review. Nothing too insulting or bad though.**

**God I must sound desperate and whiny. Sorry, im getting frustrated alright?!**


	23. Sakura's Strength

**Chapter 22: Sakura's Strength**

**Hi haven't written an author's note in a while. Not that you care. But it is important**

**Anyway, I received a review, from those who actually bothered to review, asking:**

**(q) Is this a crossover into bleach?**

**(a) Yes, I though that was clear, sorry if it wasn't but it is.**

**and another one asking:**

**(q) Are the shinobi going to fight in the war?**

**(a) Depends on which war. I've taken back what I wrote about not involving the blood war arc and that I might include it. I'm playing around with the idea. The thing is that between shinigami and shinobi, the former would be stronger in this story at least, if you read the campfire scene with Irina, Obito and Itachi, you would know the difference in chakra and reiatsu and how it affects other beings. Chakra is effective against other chakra users, there are some exceptions but they are weak against spritual beings so they would be innefective in the blood war but I'm thinking about it. If it does happen it will probably be during the three year gap that Naruto is gone with Jiraiya.**

**That's all for now. Now get on with the second message**

* * *

**Naruto**

He closed his eyes, while it happened

So when the snake finally released him, after he slashed blindly at it with his katana, he saw the fang that was still imbedded in his shoulder and felt the searing hot venom flowing in his veins. He would have pulled it out but he didn't have the time as the giant serpent sprang at him again and he jumped out of the way.

"Holy shit!" He shouted finally getting a good look at the fifty foot snake that grabbed him.

He held his inherited katana tighter. And when the damned snake struck again he slashed at it's head, only for the creature's steel-like scales to deflect it. His eyes widened, the creature hissed, almost like it was laughing at him, as it recoiled to strike again and when it did, it was too fast for Naruto. Thankfully it didn't sink its remaining fang into him, but it did speed and tackle him, pinning him to a large tree. His back hit the trunk first but the force caused the back of his head to slam into the tree. He was dazed for a few seconds. But snapped out of it when the snake's leftover fang was just an inch from his face. He slashed at it again and like before it was sliced right off.

He grabbed the thing and plunged in into the serpent's eye before it could react. It hissed and recoiled. He took the opportunity to spring board off the trunk of the tree he was on and jump above the creature's head. It opened its mouth to swallow him, but the moment Naruto saw the pink, mushy inside of the snake's mouth he grasped his sword with both hands and focused his wind chakra.

He slashed horizontally _**"Kaze no Hōchō!"(Wind Cleaver)**_ He yelled. The crescent shaped concentration of wind chakra was smaller than normal, that was good. The snake swallowed the technique and it's one remaining eye widened before the Fūton jutsu started cutting it down the middle. It reached the end of its tail and the moment it dispersed the top half of the snake fell clean off and Naruto looked away from the disgusting sight.

He then rememberd his other teammate had been attacked the same way. He bolted from the scene and tried to track down Sakura's chakra signature. He went through, what seemed like, miles of forest before he found the twin of the snake he fought. It was writhing and thrashing. When it saw him, it hissed. It sprang at him but stopped a foot away. It seemed like it was gurgling- no, choking on something.

"Shannaro!" Came the muffled sound from inside the snake, and somewhere where it's neck would be three familiar looking blades pierced the skin from the inside and peeled the scaled clean off. The claws slashed down and the creature screamed, though not really, in pain. From the huge gash emerged Sakura, covered in slime, cuts and bruises, but otherwise fine.

Sakura stomped down on its head "You're not hot shit anymore, are you, you slimy asshole?!" She shouted kicking it again.

He wrinkled his nose. Sakura, finally seeing him glared.

"We do _not_ speak of this again. Are we clear?" She said slowly, obviously trying not to curse. She then saw the condition he was in and nearly retched at the sight of his shoulder.

He didn't really bother to check it himself, he was no healer. But he knew it was bad. Blood was leaking out, but the fang stanched most of it. But that was the extent of it's usefulness. He turned away before she could look around the edges of where it pierced him and the skin was turning a sickly shade of purple. He suddenly grabbed it and clenched his teeth.

"AAARGH! Mother fucker that hurts!" He said through his teeth as he wrenched the fang out of his shoulder blood flying off with it. He threw it as far as he could, which wasn't very far, considering his condition.

"Naruto! Are you crazy?!" Sakura screamed at him.

Black spots danced in his vision as he tried to steady himself. Sakura put his arm around her shoulder to support him.

"We-" he panted"-have to get to Sasuke" Knowing she wouldn't win in any argument they would've had, she just nodded and half-carried, half-supported Naruto on the way.

* * *

**Kakashi**

In a swirl of leaves, he arrived at the tower at the center of the Forest of Death.

He was ready to run, to alert the Tokubetsu Jōnin in charge but was stopped by Izumo and Kotetsu at the door.

"What are you doing here Kakashi-senpai? You're not allowed in there, the exams are taking place." Izumo said, letting go of him and standing next to Kotetsu, he seemed embarrased to be calling someone four years younger, senpai.

"Where the hell is Anko?" He asked with urgency in his voice.

They didn't know how to respond at first. "Uh a few hours ago she started muttering things like: "He's here" and "I have to get to him" and the she ran into the forest." Kotetesu informed him

He clenched his fist and ignored Izumo's question asking if something was happening. He made a break for the forest, jumping through the trees, frantically searching for his team or any trace of their scent, Naruto and Sasuke in particular. He had an idea why the snake sannin would want either of the two boys and he didn't like it. He swore to protect them both, he swore in front of Itachi and Rina. He wasn't about to break and oath.

When he finally located was Sasuke's scent, he sensed someone else's chakra signature as well. He landed in a clearing with only one already inhabiting it. His eyes instantly focused on the unconscious form of the young Uchiha heir. The boy was not too badly injured, he had a stab wound on his left thigh. Otherwise he was fine. He searched him for any other injury and was shocked to see an all-too-familiar black mark on his neck. A curse seal.

"Kakashi nii-san!" he looked up to see Sakura and Naruto who had just arrived, looking like hell. Naruto had a hole in his shoulder, the size of Gai's fist and it looked infected. Sakura was a little better though she smelled a bit funny.

"What happened?!" he asked them turning Sasuke over on his back.

"We met this Kusa genin who attacked us. He summoned snakes to get me and Sakura away from here while he faced Sasuke" Summoning serpents, now there was no doubt in his mind that they were speaking about the snake-sannin

As if on cue they all heard strange laughter in a raspy voice. They all whirled around to see a lone figure, bearing the Kusa hitai-ate. The Kusagakure genin's face, or rather the disguise he was using peeled of like a second skin.

"Ah little Kakashi Hatake, all grown up and matured." he said and Kakashi shuddered he used to joke with Irina, when they were genin, how he was a pedophile, now he was sure.

"Orochimaru" He shoved Naruto and Sakura behind him. "Stay back" he told them

"I have no business with you Kakashi or with your other gaki. What I want is the Uchiha" he took a step closer and they all tensed.

"There's no way in hell we're giving him to you, Hebi-teme!" Naruto said running out from behind Kakashi to stand next to him and Sakura did the same.

"Little Naru-chan. My, haven't you grown as well. Why, I remember seeing you as a child and thinking, I could end you so easily. But I couldn't risk destroying what's sealed within you"

Knowing Naruto would try to get something out of the snake-sannin he spoke. "What do you want with Sasuke?"

Instead of answering, Orochimaru laughed, a cold, humorless one. "You're lucky, you know. You've already got what you want." He went rigid.

"How long has it been? Just five years?" Orochimaru droned on. "You didn't have that sharingan in your left eye the last time we met. That's what I want as well. The boy's sharingan that is. His older brother, is just a little more difficult to get to."

"Why now, why here?"

"The new village, Otōgakure, it's mine."

It was his turn to laugh. "That was your plan? That's a shit plan"

The older man raised an eyebrow "How blunt, you obviously learned from Rina-chan" Kakashi scowled beneath his mask. No one called her that but him. That's how it was.

Orochimaru went on about his plan, saying he had people, pawns in the village. And that Sasuke was one of them now. But a much more valuable piece. He stepped closer with each sentence.

When he was a few steps away Kakashi suddenly sprang to life. He left hand grasped his right wrist. Lightning crackled and sparked in his hand. The sound of birds chirping filled the air. Sakura and Naruto stood on either side of him, weapons drawn.

"Take another step." He dared. "I'll put this straight through your chest. Sannin or not I'll fucking kill you."

He didn't know what to expect but it sure as hell wasn't the laughter that Orochimaru released. There was a sudden shift in the air. The lightning in his hands started crackling louder, no longer sounding reminiscent of birds. The lightning turned a pale white color that started surrounding his feet as well. Orochimaru stopped his laughter.

"I see she's taught you more than just barking." He said referring to Rina. "No matter, even if I leave now, I will have him. He will come to me. He possesses that kind of disposition. He is an avenger with a specific target in mind and he will come to me, seeking power." He started walking away.

"Remember this Kakashi-kun. The time to test him is near" with that the snake-sannin disappeared from their sights. He called Kakashi that just to spite him.

His entire body shook. That was incredibly stupid. "I'll kill him? Kami-sama, what the hell was I thinking?" He would have slapped his forehead out of frustration but a loud thud caught his attention.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, running to him. He tried to walk towards his little brother, but the moment he took just one step, his legs turned to jello and he found himself face-to-face with the forest floor. Not one muscle in his body seemed to work. All he could move was his eye.

_"Kuso, I shouldn't have used it for that Raikiri"_ he scolded himself. Rina had told him what would happen if he pushed himself while using his, so-called "White Chakra" and using it for one of his most powerful jutsu was definitely pushing it. The amount he had stored was not very high level but what he exerted was.

"Kakashi-sensei?!" came Sakura's panicked voice. He felt himself getting turned over. "Daijoubo desu ka?" she asked.

He didn't feel ok, in fact he felt like-

* * *

**Time skip**

His eye rolled back into his head and she was sure he was out cold. **  
**

Sakura had to carefull drag them, all three of them, to a hollow of a large tree. She knew a little about medical jutsu, so she thought to check their injuries. Kakashi's condition was puzzling. He had no injuried, external or otherwise that she could see, it seemed as though he had just exhausted himself with one technique, though she didn't know how. Sasuke wasn't any worse. She cleaned, disinfected and bandaged the wound on his thigh that was obviously made by a kunai. She cleaned the scrapes and little cuts he had from falling through the thick foliage of sharp branches and leaves, but didn't know what to do about the black mark on his neck.

Then the worst injuries were on Naruto. Unlike her, who had just been put in the mouth of the snake, he had been bitten. He hid the fact that the wound was definitely infected and she knew by the way it was oddly colored he had poison running through him. There was nothing she could do about the bruises, but she did what she could for his broken arm and rib.

She was trying not to panic. She was all alone, technically, in a forest full of people, plants and animals, ready to kill her the moment she was in their sight. She felt like bursting into tears but she resisted. She had to be strong. Emotions be damned. She set up traps and defenses like Irina-sensei had taught her so there would be a warning if someone was close.

An audible groan made her jump and suddenly draw out her claws. She whirled around her to see a single onyx eye staring at her.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're awake!" She exclaimed and, in a rush of emotion she hugged him. He could only barely lift one arm to hold her.

"How long?" He asked.

"Half a day. It's dawn, on the last day of the exam." She told him, fetching him something to drink

The older teen took a look at where they were, he then looked at Naruto and Sasuke. "Did you bring us here. _And_ take care of everyone's injuries?" She nodded.

He couldn't help but feel proud. It had only been a few months since she had been under his and Rina's tutelage and she had grown from that silly, shallow, little girl to a strong kunoichi. Albeit there was room for a lot of improvement, she had still progressed very far in such a short amount of time.

He was ripped away from his thought by a sudden explosion. A paper bomb.

Sakura walked to the entrance of the tree hollow. "That was one of my traps" she stated.

He knew what this meant. He tried to stand up, only to fall back down, ungracefully.

"You shouldn't move. Let me handle it" she said her voice just a tad shaky.

He shook his head. "No, they could be too much for you. Just give me a minute and I can-"

"No!" She said, raising her voice. "I can't let you, or anyone else get hurt when I can fight for you and them. You always told me never to abandon or let down my comrades, and I'm not going to let down now." She looked him straight in the eye, and her's were resolute.

"Just twelve and already so grown up, already a true shinobi." He said with a quiet laugh.

"I was taught by the best" She touched one of his hands. "Please just stay down"

* * *

**Sakura**

She tried to look confident and stand tall as she faced the Otokagure shinobi.

"Where's Uchiha?" The one that was mummy-wrapped asked.

"Why the hell would I tell you?" She said trying to buy time and size them up. "What do you need him for?"

The female one, Kin, smirked. "To prove his worth, to test him" something in her memory pricked and she thought back to what Orochimaru had said to Kakashi_. "The time to test him is near"_ he had said.

"Are you with that **_Hebi-teme(Snake Bastard)_**? Are you working for Orochimaru?" She asked hoping for answers.

The three enemy nin shared a look and a smile. "Well, I guess we can't let her live, now that she asked that." Said Zaku suddenly rushing towards her, holding a kunai in his right hand.

He slashed at her and she drew her claws and brought them up to block. The sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air as she pushed him back with her unusual strength.

"Zaku you're pathetic! She's just a little girl" she heard Dosu shout at his teammate. The one she was wrestling with suddenly raised his right hand and she saw this strange tube in the middle of his palm.

**_"Zankuha (Decapitating Airwave)!" _**He yelled. She felt herself being thrown backwards by an invisible force. She fell, unceremoniously into the dirt.

Despite the pain and ringing in her ears, she stood up. Before she could even recover Kin grabbed her ponytail and yanked. Sakura winced.

"You're a joke! A shinobi with bright pink hair?" Kin laughed but immediately stopped when Sakura buried her fist into the older girl's gut, knocking the wind out of her.

"Shinobi who think they can beat someone with talk? Who's the joke now?" She taunted and Kin grit her teeth and charged again, this time drawing senbon. Sakura's eyes caught that there were little bells tied to each one, she then realized why Zaku's attack made her ears ring and how they would be sound nin of all things. She started making handseals for the most basic jutsu she knew. _**"Ninpō: Sakura no Mai (Dance of The Cherry Blossom)"**_ she muttered. From Kin's point of view, the konoha kunoichi dissolved into a flurry of sakura petals which flew right for her. She raised her arm to cover her face.

"Kin! What the hell are you doing?! She's right there!" She heard Dosu shout and her eyes widened when her opponent was suddenly in front of her in a flash of pink and red. A defiant yell was heard as Sakura slashed at the older girl's face. She managed to tilt her head back enough not to make it fatal but she did get hit..

Kin clutched her cheek as it bled, three slash marks running down the side of her face. "You little bitch!" She yelled, getting up.

"Shit, she's tougher than we thought." Dosu stated.

"Tch, even if she does get Kin, she couldn't take us" Zaku proclaimed in a arrogantly confident manner.

Kin ran at Sakura again but the moment she struck the pinkette disappeared. "A clone?" she asked out loud, out of the corner of his eye she saw her and turned to throw her special senbon at her but it passed clean through. She looked around for her but heard a voice right below her. **_"Moguranogakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mole Technique)!"_**

Sakura sprang out from the ground, claws retracted, and landed a solid punch to the brunette's chin. She smiled when she heard a satisfying crack that was Kin's now broken jaw. The older kunoichi grabbed her jaw and pushed it back into place with a scream. She swiftly drew three of her senbon and threw them at Sakura in a sloppy way, because she missed her by at least a foot with each one. She smirked. But it immediately got wiped of her face when she saw the pink-haired girl was still standing straight and tall, not looking the least bit disoriented.

"What the hell?!" She yelled, outraged. "How are you not affected by my bells?"

It was Sakura's turn to smirk. She pushed the loose locks of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry. What?" She said sarcastically, pulling a small yellow earplug from her ear. "I couldn't hear you" she said, her smirk growing into a full-blown grin.

The Oto kunoichi was getting fed up. She growled and charged at Sakura again, this time with a regular kunai. But when she thought she had made contact, what she stabbed, it turned out to be a log. "Come on! I know you can do better than this academy level bullshit!" She looked around for her and went stiff when she felt her breath on her neck.

"You're damn right I can" her voice from behind stated. _**"Dotōn: Iwa no Haka(Earth Release: Rock Tomb)"**_ she said aloud. The earth rose to encase Kin's body, at first it looked like soft soil and dirt was rising to surround and bury her, but she couldn't even make it shift and when it reached her neck and pinned her arms to her chest the earth started turning rock solid and quickly finished the process before she could get out.

"Let me out of here!" The brown-haired girl demanded. Sakura, in an effort to piss her off patted the rock shell surrounding her.

"I think I'll pass." it worked as the Otogakure kunoichi growled and roared at her.

Sakura turned to face Zaku and Dosu, but immediately got knocked off her feet by Zaku, who took a cheap shot to her left temple. She tried get up but was knocked back down when Zaku stomped on her back.

"Not so tough now are you, pinky?" He said grinding his heel into her spine. She cried out in pain. She tried to draw her claws out but Dosu was suddenly taking them off her hands. He threw them to the side and sat back as his teammate just stepped on the girl. She wasn't giving up, what she was doing was buying time, hoping that by letting Zaku kick the shit out of her and take his time, it would be enough for someone, anyone to help her and protect her teammates. Even if, at this point, she was lying in a small pool of her own blood, with broken bones and so many bruises, she would stay strong.

After a while the leader decided it was enough. "We came for Sasuke Uchiha. Not to pick a fight with a little girl" Zaku kicked her side one more time before walking past her.

"No!" She shouted, and with all the strength she had left she grabbed Zaku's ankle.

"Let go of me trash!" He raised his foot to stomp on her again.

But a sudden wave of fear and dread washed over him and his companions, the exception was Sakura. What she was seeing was that the two Otō nin were staring blankly at empty space, their eyes missing their pupils and irises, just completely whited out. She recognized the technique.

"Funny how, usually if Hatake-san is late we assume it's normal but today, when he didn't show up we knew something was wrong" A familiar female voice said. She raised her head, as much as she could to see a familiar green battle kimono and hairbun. She took back what she said about seeing Kakashi awake being the most relieving moment of her life, right now it was seeing Haku Momochi and Arashi Koe standing over her, the latter mumbling incoherent words, his_** kekkei genkai**_ in effect.

Said brown-haired boy unsheathed his sword and stalked towards the two dazed Oto nin.

"No don't!" Sakura told him, he turned to raise an eyebrow at her, but didn't stop his technique.

"Please I don't want to see anymore blood. " she said, Haku supporting her while she sat up. "It's just...enough already." She said with pleading eyes, her emerald green orbs tired and weary.

"Okay" he said in her mind, bringing her and Haku into the illusion just to speak with her. "Haku"

"On it" she swiftly brought out and threw senbon at Dosu and Zaku. Their bodies flew like lifeless ragdolls into a tree and they stayed there, pinned to the wood by the Hyotōn user's weapons. Not on hitting flesh but just digging into their clothes. All at once Arashi stopped mumbling and their vision cleared.

Kin, who had watched the whole thing was still in her rock shell. Sakura smirked at Haku, looked at Dosu and Zaku then turned to Kin. "Now that's how you use senbon" She said which got the effect she was hoping for, as the older kunoichi growled at her. She laughed but winced and doubled over in pain when she felt her broken rib act up. Arashi supported her while Haku worked on her injuries, being more knowledgable than her when it came to medical treatment.

"You look like shit" Arashi bluntly told her. She scowled at him "Stop that. Pretty girl like you will only look better with smile." The frown on her face disappeared and was replaced by a blush and a shy smile.

"See what I mean?" He said giving her a smirk which made her slap his arm. He playfully poked her in the side, but immediately regretted it as she winced. "Sorry. You did good." he said, very gently putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, don't!" They heard Kakashi's voice command. He had somehow dragged himself out of cover and go to where they were. A scream of pain was heard across the clearing and they all turned to see Zaku's arm, crushed, and in the clutches of a dark haired figure. An aura of black energy surrounding him, the mark on his neck glowing like coals burning in a roaring flame. The black mark extended to everywhere on his body and half his face, which had a sadistic grin plastered on it.

"Now, which one of you did that to my teammate?" Sasuke asked in a dark tone.

**AN: Done.**

**Reviews are food for chapter writing,**


	24. The Price of Power

**Lalalalalalalala Happy llama,**

**Sad llama,**

**Mentally disturbed llama,**

**Drama llama, **

**Stupid llama**

**I Own Nothing!**

**Chapter 23: The Price of Power**

"Sasuke don't!" Sakura pleaded

He ignored it. He had never felt so good, all his life. What coursed through him, it was intense. He felt unstoppable, invincible and, most of all, _powerful_. He looked at the bruised and beaten Sakura, Arashi, who was supporting her. It appeared that Haku was there as well, and she had pinned down the Oto had to thank her later on for not dealing with them for good. The girl, Kin, was trapped in what looked like one of his teammate's techniques, the leader was still pinned and the one who he had beaten up Sakura was currently screaming as Sasuke twisted his arm.

"Please! Please, stop!" Zaku begged, but instead of answering or loosening his grip, the young avenger just let another sadistic smile cross his face and pulled on the sound nin's arm. The boy's screams could have been heard from clear across the forest.

"You seemed eager to find me earlier, what changed?" Sasuke said in a dark tone as he tugged on the arm again. He had watched from the tree hollow, he couldn't move but his eyes could, everything inside him screamed at him to move when he saw Zaku using Sakura as a doormat. Something inside him snapped at that moment and he went under again and woke up feeling the way he did now.

"Sasuke, let him go!" he heard Kakashi command, but he was too far gone.

The black marking spread even farther over his body. He didn't resist, it felt good. He was ready to grab the Oto nin off the tree and break the legs he had so eagerly used to nearly break Sakura's spine but a pair of arm encircled him.

"Stop." someone softly whispered in his ear.

He did, only for a moment. "Let go Haku. You saw what they did to her" he said, referring to his pink-haired teammate.

"And that makes them of even less of a reason to exert the effort. They're not worth it, Sasuke-kun" she said keeping her voice calm. It was the first of many times she would call him that and it made him feel warm. Not the way the power did, a burning need for more, but a good kind of warm.

He reluctantly let the arm drop from his grasp. He turned around to face the hyotōn user and she smiled slightly.

"Watch out!" He heard Kakashi again and barely had time to tackle Haku to the ground before the blast of air zipped past their heads. The raven-haired girl's head hit the ground hard and she blacked out. Sasuke stood up abruptly and turned back to a regretful and horror stricken Zaku, who's face contorted even more when he saw the look in Sasuke's eyes. He had tried to take a desperate shot at them with the arm Sasuke had freed from Haku's senbon when their back were turned.

"Kuso! We can't stop him. Knock him out!" Kakashi said, knowing full-well he couldn't do much in his extremely weakened state, hell he only barely made it to where they were by stumbling and holding on to the trees for support. But only then did he take notice of who was there. Sakura who could barely move, like him, Haku who was out cold, and Arashi the only one who could do something but was currently supporting Sakura and was in shock. He curse again and started towards Sasuke, taking shaky and unsteady steps. A particular one felt off and he hit the dirt. The throbbing in his head hadn't left him since he woke and it only got worse.

There was nothing he could do. He prayed that he wouldn't hear the sounds of one of his students torturing another person and to his surprise it never came. He lifted his head, as much as he could and was utterly shocked to see Sasuke encased from the neck down, in what looked like a cocoon of-

"Sand?" Sakura asked out loud, voicing Kakashi's thoughts.

A lone figure walked into view and what struck the one-eyed jōnin the most was the familiar red hair and dark circles around his eyes. He had his hand raised towards Sasuke trapped form, but was staring directly at him. It couldn't be the same little boy, could it?

Sasuke scream suddenly ripped him away from his thoughts and he saw the marks on the boy's body were glowing, when the light faded he opened his eyes and glared at the red-haired boy, sharingan blazing.

That jarred Kakashi "Arashi, his eyes!"

The Koe boy seemed to snap out of his stupor and started on the task. Soon the sound of whispers was heard throughout the clearing but only Sasuke was under the spell, his eyes blank white. His head lolled to one side and he slumped in the sand casing's grasp.

The sand set him down gently on the ground before sliding on the ground back to the Suna-nin. Arashu, Sakura and Kakashi watched him walk towards the hollow where only a certain blonde's head was seen. Halfway through his journey, he grimaced and grabbed his head. He stumbled backwards. He looked directly at Kakashi.

"You, you're his family and his sensei?" He could have only meant one person but the wolf asked anyway.

"Naruto?" He asked, Gaara nodded. "Yes, I'm his adoptive brother."

The boy accepted the confirmation and then glanced at Naruto's unconscious from. "Tell him...that I'm sorry" he turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled after him but sand started covering his entire body and when it dispersed he was gone. Everyone in the clearing was silent, except for the three Oto nin that were freed by Zaku, no one bothered to glance at them as they got away.

...

* * *

**Naruto**

"Are you sure he'll be alright senpai?" He heard a familiar voice say, but he wasn't sure.

He heard another. "Hai. Naruto's tough, he'll be fine."

_Kakashi nii-san?_ He then felt a hand touch the bare flesh on his shoulder and that one little thing jolted him awake. "What the hell?!" The masked genin shouted when he bumped his head on something wooden.

He rubbed the spot on his forehead where a lump was forming. "Welcome back to the world of the living." He looked up to see Haku smiling down at him.

"Ugh, how long was I out?" He said

"At least half a day" Sakura answered, entering the hollow tree along with them. Naruto nearly gasped at her condition. She looked beyond beaten. Her clothes stained with blood that he somehow knew was hers. He grew angry at first and demanded to know who had done that to her but after explaining everything to him he couldn't say a word.

"...Then he just left." Sakura finished.

"..." Naruto stared into empty space.

Haku shuffled nervously "Umm. Namikaze-san? Do you mind if you take off your shirt I just want to see how that bite is doing" she said keeping her tone respectful but embarrassed that she had him take something off.

He didn't answer at first. "...uhwha? Oh, sure." He said slipping off the imitation jōnin vest, sweatshirt but kept the mask-shirt on. The clothes clung to his skin because of the blood that had seeped through but he just grit his teeth and pulled it off fast.

A loud gasp escaped Haku's mouth "Kami-sama." she whispered seeing the discolored skin. She leaned in and examined it closer. You could literally see the meat behind flesh that had burned away and the skin that was left looked green and rotting. She tried touching his shoulder and recoiled when the skin suddenly fell off in small flakes and, just as quickly, grew back.

"What in the world?" She asked she reached but Naruto suddenly stood up and put his clothes back on.

"It's ok. I heal fast." he said quickly. "I'll be fine. Thanks anyway Haku-chan." He eye-smiled at her.

"What!? Did you see the state your shoulder's in?! She said "You could die if you let it spread too far"

Naruto let out a fake laugh and shrugged it off. "Like some shitty little posion would be enough to off me" he said in a cocky manner.

"But, Naruto, I saw what kind of snake it was, that kind of poison-" Sakura tried but Kakashi spoke up.

"I'm sure if Naruto says he'll be fine, then he will. Besides we've got other things to worry about" he said in a dissmissive. The girls nodded letting the subject drop. For now

The masked genin sent his brother a grateful look. He wasn't sure if he was quite ready for the new additions to know his secret yet. They all exited the hollow, Kakashi with a little difficulty and Naruto with a lot that he didn't show.

They exited the tree hollow to see Arashi putting fresh bandages on the wound on Sasuke's leg and three figures wearing masks and grey body armor. A particular one with a cat mask and long purple hair addressed Kakashi.

"Kakashi-senpai!" she and the others did the standard ANBU bow, one knee to the ground, for their former captain. "We had reports that Orochimaru had infiltrated the exam and is in this forest, we found tokubetsū jōnin, Anko Mitarashi, injured and took her to the hospital, but he told us that they were after Sasuke Uchiha."

The one-eyed jōnin nodded. He was about to speak but then noticed that the three genin and two others were still there. He told them to get out of hearing range, not even bothering to give an excuse.

"Did they really have to knock you out?" Naruto asked his best friend

Sasuke nodded. "Hn"

"And did you really fight alone?" He asked Sakura

"Hai"

"Damn, I'm sorry I wasn't there." He looked at the ground.

"Don't be a dumbass." Sakura said "You were injured worse than we were. Besides I had these two to help." She gestured to Haku and Arashi.

"We're just glad we got worried that Kakashi-senpai didn't show up and got there in time to help Sakura-chan" Arashi said smoothly making Sakura blush at the chan part.

Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. "Thanks for being there. You succeeded where I failed."

"Stop it!" Sakura snapped at him "Baka! Stop beating on yourself, there was nothing you could do."

"I-"

"You two" They all turned their heads to the source of the voice. "Come on they've got an exam to finish and I've got a letter to send. We're getting out of here" Kakashi gestured for Haku and Arashi to step forward. When protests started, the jōnin held up a hand to silence them all.

"We're not supposed to be helping them in the first place. This is their test." Kakashi said sternly, which was strange for a sixteen-year old boy. "We have to go report to the Hokage"

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere but the hospital" Haku said to him corssing her arms.

He blinked a few times before answering. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, you can barely walk. And you're barely standing now. Arashi bring him to the hospital. I'll stay here and help Namikaze-san's team" she said her eyes wandering in a certain Uchiha's direction.

"What? You think I can keep an eye on him alone, he's harder to keep track of than Zabuza when he's in one of his moods!" The brown-haired boy complained

"But- *sigh* okay" Haku gave up and started walking but not before surprising everybody and putting her lips to Sasuke's cheek. "Come back alive, okay?" She said before following Kakashi and her companion. They all disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The young Uchiha stood there for a moment, slack-jawed and staring into space. But he snapped out of it when he heard Naruto snickering and making smooching noises. "Looks like the Teme's got a girlfriend." In response, Sasuke sloppily threw a kunai at him, knowing the blonde boy could catch it and he did. Sakura giggled at his behaviour.

The raven-haired boy glared at her. "You didn't see me laughing when you and Koe were flirting it up." He threw at her and she turned the same color as her jacket, red, at the mention of Arashi's name

"Shut up!" she threw a mock-punch at him which he dodged.

For a while they laughed, and in Sasuke's case smirked, enjoying the comforting sound but then they realized their situation.

"Last day of the exams, and we've got about..." He looked up at the sun's position. "Four or five hours to find the other scroll and get to the middle of the forest and to that tower."

Sakura put her hand on her hips. "Just fucking great" she sighed but then they were shocked to hear their other teammate actually let out a laugh, a pure, laugh of pleasure that wasn't sarcastic or cold.

"Kami-sama! You _do_ have a soul!" Naruto exclaimed and then his eyes widened comically. "Unless you've been taken over by that curse again! Who are you and what have you done with my emo bastard of a best friend?!" for his antics he recieved a punch from Sakura.

"What is it Sasuke-kun?" She askd him ignoring Naruto's little sniffles and exaggerated cries of pain.

He smirked, also ignoring their blonde teemate and pulled out blue scroll. The other two members of team seven stared at it wide-eyed, Naruto immdeiately sprang up.

"A heaven scroll?! How?!" Sakura exclaimed.

The smirk on the Uchiha's face disappeared. "When I fought Orochimaru alone I managed to get close enough to swipe this" he said seriously and so the tone of the conversation turned the same.

"Good job" Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "Now we just need to get to that tower"

"Hai!" The three of them said in unison before going on their way.

* * *

**Olliver**

"Are you kidding? The girls back at the fourteenth would swarm you for your diet and excersize routine if they saw you now!" he said staring at her altered uniform and her figure.

"I still can't believe that that's you now. And what we thought was your "soul from" was actually your body" Olliver said. "Guess that explaines why you can be tangible and visible even without a gigai."

"Yup" she said, walking while reading a book. "I can't believe you're not over that yet" she said turning the page

"Sorry just can't believe how much you've changed" Olliver said "Physically, I mean"

"Speaking of, I've been meaning to ask you do you ever get back aches?" Obito said bluntly

Irina stopped walking "What?"

"Do you ever get back aches from... you know" he said making a gesture of cupped hands at his chest."

"What?" she repeated.

"Well does it?" Obito asked pointedly looking.

Itachi and Olliver started backing away while Irina started twitching. Strangely, high-pitched screams echoed throught the trees and birds nearby flew away in fear.

Charlotte shook her head "I swear, guys, so blind and oblivious" she said watching the the poor boy rub his injuries and put an ice pack to his now broken jaw that he reset with a loud crack.

Irina scowled "He's worse than Aizen. At least he had the courtesy to not stare at me like a perv when his little pet Szayel Apporo was experimenting on me" she said making her 3rd and 4th seat cringe "Or when he punished that lecher Nnoitora for staring at my chest" she said these thing so bluntly that it made the other two soul reapers cringe once again, remembering what she was like during her days as an espada.

"I still can't believe we got our asses kicked by that butterfly with a mullet" Olliver said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Irina raised an eyebrow. "That butterfly nearly killed us all" she said as a matter-of-factly.

"Yes but still, for the worst threat to the soul society in a hundred years, he looked ridiculous." Itachi joined in remembering what Aizen had looked like. They all laughed at the comparison and stated walking again. They made steady but slow progress going through town after town,

It had been three days since the hollow's nest incident and they spent the first one, resting and the second one celebrating. Why? Because of a miscalculation, a side-effect, an unfortunately fortunate mistake on his part.

"Thank again for, you know, restoring my eye" Obito made his trademark grin. Olliver accepted the thanks and nodded, not even bothering to stop him, because then teen hadn't stopped thanking him since it happened. When he had "healed" the Uchiha while bisected, he had restored every part of his body that was damaged, which included his eye. They realized this only a day after and celebrated, because Obito insisted, getting drunk (except for the captain) and getting into a bar fight.

Now it was the third day and they finally started moving at a steady pace back to Konohagakure no Sato.

"I've got. Lot of explaining to do, huh?" Irina asked him and Charlotte. The latter nodded but he verbally answered.

"Not just to us, but the whole squad and the new additions. Plus, Alex, Redd and Rae are going to kick your ass when they see you again." The captain of the 14th groaned. At the mention of her lieutenant and the other two soul reapers.

They laughed at her distress and continued walking in the midst of a comfortable silence.

"So this little brother of your's.." Olliver said non-chalantly "What's he like?"

Her eyes once again softened and her tone showed that she was smiling. "Everything I could hope for in an _outoto_" she said, knowing they knew Japanese. It was basically a requirement being a part of the Gotei 14.

"Well, isn't that just-" _Caaaaww!__  
_

_"_What?" she asked him

Olliver tried again "I said, isn't that just-"

"Look!" Obito pointed to something flying towards them "Is that..." Charlotte squinted and noticed the little dot in the sky had feathers as dark as the night and had a plain red bandana around it's neck that showed at its chest.

"Yes" Irina answered and suddenly whistled, the shrill noise could've reached all the way back to the tavern they drank at. There was another loud squawk as the bird swooped down towards them at an alarming speed. The fourth seat himself would've ducked if he hadn't seen this before.

He watched Irina raise her chain-covered right arm and nearly flinched as the pitch black raven landed on her arm, it's talons secured in the chain links, and not piercing her arm. The captain already had one scar on her right arm she didn't need another.

The black passerine bird's eyes were blue, like it's master but the pupils were white. It spread it's wings and cawed again. It twitched ducked its head to show a bit of parchment, rolled up and fit into a cannister tied to the bird's back.

"Good job, girl." She petted it with two fingers. "Good _**Hikage (Shade)**_" she said and the bird cawed in response. The bird flapped its wings and cocked its head towards the trees.

"Really?" Irina sighed and, too quick for anyone's eyes to follow, she drew a kunai and threw it at a dark brown spot on a tree, to Olliver's surprise the dark brown spot started bleeding. The orange-haired teen had nailed a squirrel right in the eye. "Go"

The bird flew of her arm and, with the speed of the kunai her master threw, dove at the dead animal and started feeding on it.

"Wow, you told me you had a raven summon but I didn't think she was your carrier pigeon too." Obito observed and then yelped when Hikage nipped at his ear and then flew back to it's prey

"Don't mention those birds around her, she _hates_ them" Olliver advised. "Learned that lesson the hard way." He said, running a hand through his strawberry blonde locks while Obito rubbed his ear.

"What does it say?" Charlotte asked.

The third seat watched their captain read through the message at lightning speed. Her eyes widened more and more as she progressed through the letter. She was muttering the words so he caught a few words like "Naruto", which he learned was the name of her brother, "infiltrated", "Jiraiya", she scowled at that one, and "Orochimaru", "curse mark", and "bitten". The moment she read the last line she, put up two fingers and the raven that had carried the message to her had disappeared, and in a flash of orange and black, she was jumping and flying throught the trees, leaving them and the letter behind.

"What did it say?" Obito said reaching for the message she had dropped on the ground but his cousin, Itachi, had gotten to it first making the brunette pout, like a child, which made his fellow seated officer smile.

"Oh shit" Itachi said in a very similar manner to Irina. He handed the message to the rest of the group.

"Uh oh" Olliver said. "You said it took you at least six days to get to the hollow's nest?"

The Uchiha cousins nodded.

"She'll be there in less than four hours."

* * *

**AN: Done!**

**You know the drill. R&R but no flames!**


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